Obsession
by winged516
Summary: Lone werewolves are sad, lonely creatures. But everybody needs someboday sometimes.
1. Her Scent

Hi! For starters, I would like to say that this has very little to do with the actual book, though I am a HUGE fan. But my stories all have their inspiration and I give credit where its due. And occasionally there will be cameos.

Okay, now for a better summary:

Jonas has never been like anyone else in his pack. His father, the Alpha, won't admit this but everyone knows it. Jonas is a lone wolf. He has a monster inside him. And something has caught its attention.

Layla is one of three identical triplets, though you'd never know it by seeing them together. She's happy to sit alone and read while they go do normal high school girl things. She doesn't really have a lot of friends other than them and she's okay with it.

Little do each of them know their encounter would be catastrophic.

I don't own Blood and Chocolate.

* * *

**Layla:**

"Well, if it isn't Little-Miss-I'm-Too-Good-For-Anyone." Yup. That's me. I looked up from my book to see my sisters, both looked exactly like me. Of course. We were the Reigh Triplets. We were born together, so we played together, we cried together, then we grew up and I stopped fitting in so well. We were all natural blondes, but I dyed my hair brown. We all needed glasses, but I was the only one without contacts. We all had the same body type, but I didn't spend an hour a day at the gym to beef up our inherited scrawniness.

Right now my sisters were with their boyfriends, the Johnson twins. They were both inseperable and extremely talented athletes. They claimed they did so well because of the "psychic twin connection", but personally I don't believe in that stuff. I'm as close to my sisters as anyone is to their own sibling.

"Don't call her that," said Phoebe, the oldest, to her boyfriend Charlie.

"Yeah," Paulette, the youngest, agreed. She put her hands on her knees and bent over to get to my eye level. I was sitting on the cold concrete ground trying to crack through the first three pages of _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ which was proving tougher than it looked with my little sister by five minutes looming over me. "Layla, do you want to sit with us? You shouldn't sit here by yourself at lunch."

"No, thank you," I said with just a hint of annoyance in my tone.

"Lay-Lay," Phoebe said in her scolding big sister voice with her hands on her hips. "It can't be healthy to sit all day and read...whatever it is you're reading."

"It can't be healthy to put that much hair product on your head," I retaliated. She and I smiled the same exact smile at once.

"Fine," Phoebe said. "We tried. Come on guys. Let's go sit at the tables." I sighed with relief unaware of watching eyes.

* * *

**Jonas:**

Something smelled distinctly of red cherries and maybe a hint of plum. My senses were enhanced to say the least. All werewolves senses are. It wasn't long ago that I joined the pack. My dad always had always told me what I was which is much better than some. I've known those who had to figure it out on their own. That is cruel though. That is like not warning a preteen about puberty.

And then one day I did turn, on a full moon as if the situation weren't trite enough. And from then on my inner monster came from within me and took over. Still, in my main form, I had all the senses of the monster. When that smell it my nose, I had all the instincts of one as well.

"_Smell that_?" the monster said from within me. I froze in surprise. Normally my alter ego doesn't speak to me in school. As the others in the pack chatted and laughed I sat just outside of them with my homework splayed out over my jeans. I did smell it, but I quickly put it in the back of my mind. Instead I started working on my Calculus homework. As I started it I remembered how difficult it was.

"Jonas!" came a shout from the rest of the betas in the pack. I jumped as the entire group voicing at once was impossibly loud to sensitive ears. The girls giggled and the guys grinned.

"Come join us," Tommy said nodding at me. Technically I was a part of them. I sat at the proper distance so that passer-byers would know I was with them. However I was turned around and facing the other way, glancing out instead of in at the circular table. I looked at my pack admiringly. We were _those _kids at school. I'm sure you've seen them, or maybe even a part of them. The girls were dressed with pendelums and plaid skirts. The guys wore dark colored jeans with dangling metal hooks and other metal ornaments.

Some wore Anime shirts. Others didn't. Some also had semi-permanant florescent colors in their hair. Some also had piercings all around their face. We had to dress this way, at least that's what the elders told us. That way, the humans wouldn't want to befriend us at all. We claimed ourselves as a pack and no one was allowed in without consulting the elders first.

"I got homework," I explained. Then there was me. I had no piercings. Okay, that's a lie. I did have one once on my lip, but it hurt like hell so I took it out. I couldn't believe people did that to themselves. My hair was naturally dark and so were my eyes. I was sort of small, but not completely puny despite what Johnny says. He's teases me the way we all tease each other. We were all raised together. Our parents were raised together and our grandparents together. We're all just one big happy family.

"Lame," Katrina scoffed at me and downing her coffee in one gulp.

"Yeah," Laura agreed. I smiled knowing the teasing was without maliciousness.

"_That smell..._" moaned the monster. There was only one way to settle him down. I acknowledged him.

"_Yes, I know. The smell is interesting_," I tried to coax the beast.

"_Investigate_," ordered my primal counterpart.

"_No. Now relax,_" I demanded. The inner monster sent a mental growl that reverbrated my insides. The monster frightened me. It frightened other people in the pack too. Normally werewolves aren't as timid as I am. We're a wild species. We're meant to run around nipping one another playfully and to hunt. I've never been into that. Even though my pack didn't shun me, they knew I was different. Inevitably, I was treated differently.

And I didn't mind being the lone wolf. I liked my peace. I looked over my shoulder. Katrina looked at Johnny with a hint of concern on her face. When she saw me, the look disappeared and she smiled like I had always seen her smile. I think they know. They don't have an inner monster like me. A frustrated wild part yearning to get out that was a complete and separate consciousness. I'd never told anyone about him before. I had always thought he was under control.

The bell rang. I sighed with relief as I gathered my things. Maybe now at least the smell would go away. Whoever smelled like cherries would be in a completely different room and the scent wouldn't be so strong.

"_You are not the least bit curious, my host_?" the monster said. I rolled my eyes to myself.

"_Not really_," I lied inwardly. The monster chuckled in disbelief as I put my backpack on my shoulder.

* * *

Hope you enjoyed! There's much more to come. 


	2. Her Name

Hey! You're still reading this despite it has very little to do with "Blood and Chocolate"! Good for you.

Okay, I'm human and everything, but doesn't Blood and Chocolate sound really appetizing? Is that gross?

Contrary to popular belief, I do not own "Blood and Chocolate".

* * *

**Layla:**

My head was leaned back against the white washed walls with curse words and inuendos sprawled across from it. My lips pouted balancing two pencils in between my upper lip and nose. For a grand finale I took a pen and added it to the balancing act. They wobbled briefly, but alas it stayed. _Tah dah!_ I thought to myself with a mini applause by my fellow slackers of people who had taken more interest in watching me occupy myself than paying attention to the lecture.

"Ms. Reigh?" I snapped my head up. The pencils and pen clattered on the desktop.

"Yes?" I said innocently.

"If you are quite finished demonstrating your talents, would you like to point out the color symbolism?" Mr. Harvey said. I blinked and wracked my brain for an answer. I looked on someone else's desk, since mine was empty save the pencils. I read the title, _Great Gatsby_. Luckily, literature was my strong suit.

"Well, there is the fact that Daisy is often wearing yellow. Yellow is a color associated with happiness. Therefore Daisy represents the hedonism of the era," I said. Mr. Harvey squinted and hid a smile.

"Very good," he said. I smiled. My audience looked away. Someone mumbled "brown-noser" under their breath. I smiled carelessly. Hey, its not my fault I read a lot. I guarantee the situation would not have been the same in Physical Science. Speaking of which... I had just realized that I had an experiment today in the lab and I left my textbook at home.

"Ah, damn!" I hissed. Apparently, a little louder than I'd mean to. Mr. Harvey raised his eyebrows at me. I tried to look away as if nothing had happened, but the confused snickers were multiplying. I smiled again a closed mouth smile. "Sorry."

"Maybe you should see the counselor," Mr. Harvey said. I perked up.

"Counselor?" I echoed. He passed me the excuse slip. I sighed and opened my mouth to protest. English AP was my favorite class. I didn't want to miss it. Then again, maybe if I stayed in the office long enough I could miss Physical Science. Sure, I could tell the counselor I wanted to commit suicide! No wait, they would call my parents. Well, maybe I could tell them I thought I had an STD. I could cry about my nonexistant boyfriend, ask to see the nurse who was bound to do nothing but take my temperture. One excused absence then I wouldn't get marked down for not having my book. I gathered my things wordlessly. Mr. Harvey tried to avert attention away from me by continuing his lecture.

* * *

**Jonas:**

"_It's close by. The smell. It's on the move_," the monster said. I was getting very tired of talking to him, but he wouldn't shut up. "_It's moving closer._" I wrote down the next example problem. "_Put down the stick and focus_!" he said. Guessing that my pencil was the stick it was talking about, I threw it down discretely in frustration.

"_What the hell is wrong with you_?" I barked at it in my thoughts.

"_Go after the smell_," it told me. "_Ask the elder to excuse you and follow it_!" My jaw clenched in annoyane. I tried to distract myself by following the damn-near-impossible problem on the board.

"_You dare defy me, human_!" the monster shrieked. With that sentence a shot of pain went directly to the back of my skull. I cringed visibly. The student beside me gave a worried glance. I smiled at her reassuringly through watery eyes. I blinked the pain away.

"_I am not a human_," I told it. "_I'm a werewolf_."

"_No_," it said. "_I am the wolf. Defy me no more, host_." Another shot of pain. This time the pain was distinct. My skull started to split and form as if I were going through the Change, right there in the middle of Calculus.

"_Alright! Just stop_!" I finally gave in. A pain jerked tear fell down my face as I quickly wiped away. Luckily no one seemed to notice. However the cracking of my skull was audible. People searched around the class for the source of the sound. My hand shot up.

Ms. Milne called on me.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" I blurted out quickly as the pain was slowly dying down.

"Um, sure. But come straight back," Ms. Milne said. I left immediately. The moment I the door shut behind me, I realized my fears. You see, I am the only werewolf I have ever heard of with a beast in their head. But I think I'm sane. I hope I'm sane.

The point is I have always had the monster under control. It never had the ability to force me to do anything before. Now it was forcing a Change upon me in the middle of class in front of everyone. It had the control. What should happen if it threatened to force the Change on me again? What if it held my secret, my pack's secret, hostage so I had to do its bidding?

"_Now find the source of the smell_." For a moment I stood still.

"_I don't have to listen to you. You're in my head, but I have control_," I told him. The monster chuckled patronizingly.

"_Of course you do_," he coaxed like an adult talking to a small child. "_Now go find it_." He was right. I didn't have a say in the matter anymore. So I pretended like I was walking toward this smell of my own free will. I tried to take out the fear of the situation by thinking about what it could be. The sweet smell of cherries was magnificent. I could easily single it out in the mixture of pollution, nature, and every other living thing's specific smell.

It was around the corner of the music building, passed the lecture hall, and down the corridor of the AP building. It kind of felt like that cartoon of Bugs Bunny. You know, the one where he smells carrot soup and he floats up in the air following the hand-shaped string of smell. As I walked along, the monster was silent in anticipation. I wish it didn't know my every thought so I could trick it. Maybe tell it I couldn't find the source of smell with my weak human nose.

But he could predict me. I had thought I could predict him, but he had surprised me on numerous occasions today alone.

The smell led me straight to the office. I walked in and smiled at the secretary's at the desk. The women smiled back at me.

"How're you, Jonas?" one woman asked in a strong southern accent. I knew her pretty well. My dad made a point to make friends with the officers in this town, just in case. Helen Lander was Officer Lander's wife. Our families had dinner together every once in a while so that Dad could make nice.

"Fine, Ms. Helen. Just fine," I said.

"_Lie. Pretend to be ill. The smell is in this building_," it said. I cringed with annoyance that the monster interrupted me once more.

"Actually," I said. "I really have this terrible headache. It's been killing me all day. Do you think I could get some aspirin?" Ms. Helen tapped her pen in thought.

"We're actually not allowed to distribute aspirin. I'd have to call your dad," she said. I sighed with relief. This was my way out. This was how I was going to gain control again. I had done all I could.

"Oh well," I said with a shrug. The growl eminating from the monster echoed through my thoughts. Ha! Like I cared it was upset.

**CRACK!**

And that sound would be my skull splitting down the middle again. It caught my by surpirse. I screamed and fell to my knees clutching my head. Ms. Helen stood up.

"Jonas? Jonas, are you alright?" Ms. Helen asked sitting up from her chair to look at me over the counter.

"_Bide. Your. Time_," the monster hissed.

"Could you please call my dad?" I squeaked blinking away tears that were falling to the floor behind my veil of hair.

"Yes, of course," Ms. Helen said already punching the numbers to my dad's office. Slowly the pain came to a halt. Ms. Helen covered her phone with her hand while the phone rang. "Honey, why don't you lie down in the nurse's office? Bertha's out to lunch. It should be nice and quiet in there." I nodded and came to my feet. I went into the nurse's office and shut the door behind me. Maybe all I needed to do was lie down.

I spread out across the vinyl bed that squeaked with protest. I laid my head on the small pillow and looked up at the ceiling. I blinked a few times and closed my eyes.

"_We're close_," it spoke to me.

"_Just try to be patient_," I pleaded with it. "_We can't draw attention to ourselves. I still have appearances to keep up_."

"_This is more important than any appearances, my host_," the monster declared. "_However, I am pleased with your performance and the smell has stopped moving. I will humor you for now_." I sighed with relief. My body suddenly untensed. I hadn't realized how wound up I was. My muscles were sore from clenching. I felt like I needed a massage. The silence in my head was immeasureably comforting.

I must have fallen asleep, because the next thing I remembered hearing was the bell ringing. My eyes snapped open. The smell was moving again. I perked up instinctively. It was moving towards me. The monster was silent like a great hunter. My heart was beating like crazy I didn't move. I just watched as the door of the handle turned.

Then she walked inside. The monster and I watched in silence as she came to a quick halt. She had fake brown hair and black rimmed glasses that were stylishly funky. She had dark blue jeans and a plain black tank top. She was a little skinny, but definitely was not ugly. If I had just seen her, I wouldn't be thinking what I was thinking now. It was that smell that really drove it home.

She was the smell the monster was obsessing about? It was a girl?

"Oops, this door apparently does not go outside. Duh, Layla.," she saidembarrassed. She laughed weakly. "Sorry 'bout that." Then as soon as she'd walked into the nurse's office she just left.

She just left? I listened for a response from my alter ego. The monster was silent. So I hopped up off the bed. Now I was completely driven.

Layla. I'd have to remember that.

Layla. Layla. Layla.

I grabbed the door before it closed and ran right past Ms. Helen's concerned protests. Her words were warbled into the background of the world as I ran after her. She turned around just in time to see me. She smiled politely as she opened the door to the outside. We both stepped out into the sunshine.

"You have class?" I asked. She laughed.

"No. I walk around the campus just for fun," she said with good natured sarcasm.

"Well, I was thinking about ditching," I said. I scratched the back of my head shyly. A habit I'd always hated but never had a lot of trouble with since I rarely met with people outside my pack. "You want to ditch with me?" She looked confused for a moment and opened her mouth to talk. Then her brow furrowed.

"Won't we get in trouble?" she asked.

"They only call home if you miss more than two classes," I said. Not that I knew from experience.

"_Yes. You're doing well, host_," the monster's voice said as if it were suddenly recovering from the shock of Layla's presence. I ignored it. Layla thought for a moment and shrugged.

"Cool. I probably should ditch for the sake of my GPA. I forgot my Physical Science book," she said. "Where should we hang out? It would be hard to get off campus." I shrugged.

"Well, let's just walk around. It's a nice day," I said with a smoothness that surprised myself.

Layla smiled.

"Sure," she said brightly.

* * *

Ah! It begins. Tune in next time! Unless I've already added. In this case, please continue!


	3. Her Presence

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though.

* * *

**Layla:**

Jonas Carter, that was his name. He was a nice boy, a little dorky, but you know I'm not really one to talk about dorky. Anyway, it kind of added to his charm. We walked across the school, ever wary of supervisors looking for ditchers like us. But he was right. It was a perfect Autumn day. He walked with his hands stuffed in his pockets.

"So, its Layla? Right?" I smiled.

"You've heard of my sisters," I said. That was the only way anyone knew me.

"You have sisters?" Jonas inquired. I smiled a little wider. He certainly did know the right thing to say.

"We're triplets," I said. He nodded.

"Wow, a whole litter," he said. I giggled. We stopped at a soda machine. Jonas took out a dollar. He looked to me.

"You want something?" he asked. I looked at my choices. I stood in front of it.

"Root beer?" I asked. He pressed the button and it came tumbling out. He handed it to me. I felt a jolt of electricity as I took it. We both held on for a moment. I felt a blush rising as he looked at me. Was I crazy? We'd only met like four minutes ago. What was this? Like a date? It was going faster than any other boy who'd liked me. Normally I had to be friends with them first. Suddenly I paused. "Did my sisters put you up to this?"

He glanced at me, surprised.

"Up to what?" he asked. Oh, he was good.

"My sisters are always trying to get guys to..." I started. Then I stopped halfway through my sentence. No, they like to get hockey players or the bass players of local garage bands. This kid was out of even their social circles, as hard as that was to do. He was part of the punk/Goth group everyone was too afraid to talk to. I didn't see why, though. They looked like a nice group of people. I mean, they were kind of rowdy, but they didn't do drugs or trash houses. I've met worse. "Never mind."

"So...," I started. "I haven't seen you in any of my classes. Then again you don't look like much of a English buff."

"Try math," he said.

"I did. I failed. Geometry is as far as I go," I said. Jonas chuckled.

"No, I mean me. I'm a math nut. I'm in AP Calculus," he said. I raised my brows impressed.

"Wow. I didn't even know there was an AP Calculus," I said. I cracked open the root beer. It hissed and splattered all over us both without warning. I gasped and glanced at Jonas. He had root beer up and down his arm, and the hem of his sleeve. I started to apologize when we both started laughing so hard that one of the supervisors ran outside one of the classrooms.

We froze.

"Hey! Do you two have class?" the supervisor woman barked marching our way. I looked to Jonas to see he had a matching concerned look. Then all of the sudden he smiled, unworried.

"Cheese it! It's the fuzz!" Jonas laughed. He grabbed my hand and led me as we outran the too heavy supervisor. Jonas was incredibly fast. He was practically dragging me. We turned around a corner near the library, right towards a dead end. I tried to warn Jonas, but I was out of breath from trying to keep up with him.The woman chased us as long as she could. We reached the fence at the end of the dead end. I put my hands on my knees breathing hard, Jonas looked like he'd had no problem whatsoever. How was he so fast.

The supervisor found us as she was panting thinking she had us caught. I thought we were caught too.

"My mom's gonna kill me," I said as she came closer. Jonas folded his hands, lacing his fingers, and leaned down made a make shift stepping stool.

"Not if I have anything to do with it," he said with a sparkle in his dark eyes. I wished I had a photographic memory, his eyes peeking through locks of dark hair as he leaned forward almost in a bow for me. I wondered if I was smiling on the outside as much as I was inside as I stepped on his hands. He gave me a powerful boost. I reached the top and swung my legs around and fell hard on the concrete groun. Jonas turned around seeing that he didn't have much time before the supervisor reached us. I waited for him.

"Hurry! She's coming!" I said with playful urgency. Jonas backed up and glanced at the fence. He then ran at it full speed and jumped. And when I say full speed I mean... Whoa... Who runs like that? A track guy? A basketball guy? And his jump was different, almost inhuman. Maybe it was some sort of swim team move, I wondered. All I know was he was over to the wire fence in a single bound. Jonas landed roughly on his feet. The supervisor looked shocked too.

"Come on!" he said. He took my hand again and we ran until we couldn't hear the supervisor's shouts anymore. Then we went to the school parking lot and then slowed to a walk.

* * *

**Jonas:**

My dad would have killed me. He would maul me right then and there if he saw what I'd done right in front of Layla. No human could have made that jump, though any werewolf could. The monster in me loved it. It loved to display his talents for Layla, and I'll admit it, it was fun. I haven't had fun with anyone else for a long, long time. Layla just laughed so easily, she was so pleasant and her aroma as like warm blanket on a cold day. You just never wanted to leave.

"You have a ride home today?" I asked.

"I usually get a ride with my sister's boyfriend," Layla said grimacing a bit.

"Let me take you home," I said. Layla smiled at me.

"Alright," she agreed. We walked over to my beat up Ford, which also happened to be my dad's first car when he was younger. Talk about ancient. It was originally a vomit green color. But with the added rusting problem it was also a dark red orange. It was quite the array of disgusting colors. But it was my car.

"_Will it not impress her_?" the monster questioned. Apparently, even an animals instincts could see that my car was a piece of crap. I stiffened. It'd been pleased with my performance so far, not feeling the need to speak up. It'd been quiet and in my pleasant time I'd forgotten that it was currently holding me hostage in my own body.

"_I don't think it matters_," I answered it. Layla chuckled and threw her backpack in the back.

"Nice ride," she said with playful sarcasm.

"_It does not impress her_!" the monster said slightly panicked. "_Get another one_!"

"_I draw the line at car theft_!" I snapped at it.

"_You are in no power to draw any lines_," it growled. I swallowed hard and waited for something to happen. For me to start transforming right in front of her and start ripping off car doors. I closed my eyes ready to fight its will as I thought it was going to try and make me go though the Change. The conclusion was anti-climatic. It didn't happen. I realized this was because Layla walked around the car and let herself in. The beast didn't say anything. She seemed content. Maybe he thought she'd accepted it. So it was okay. There was no need to go breaking into any rich kid's BMW. Thank God!

I got in the driver's side and started my horrible car. It sputtered in protest, but jumped to life on the second try. I smiled hesitantly at Layla.

"Aren't you that Carter guy's kid? That guy that owns all the night clubs?" Layla asked casually.

"Huh? Oh yeah. None of them are very fun though. They're mostly for middle aged married couples," I said. And they doubled nicely for Pack meetings.

"Wow, so you're like rich..." Layla said looking at the corroding quarter sized hole in the floor where you could see the asphalt passing beneath us. Oh, she was talking about the car. This was not a normal rich kid's car.

"Yeah, I thought I was going to get a Benz for my birthday. But my dad said this was the only free car I was ever going to get. It's a values thing. He thinks people who give their kids brand new cars spoil them," he said. Layla smiled.

"My mom says the same thing. My dad was going to give me and my sisters his old car to share, she came down on him so hard... Oh, I'm right here on this street," she said as we approached a stoplight. I started the turn and couldn't stop hide my smile.

"Strawberry Lane," I said outloud. With that I couldn't help but inhale that strawberry scent. We stopped at a decent sized house. It was white with a picket fence. It was delightfully typical. I tried to hold back my smile, but I hated to admit that I was almost grateful for having this monster make me stalk her. Layla was... amazing.

I pulled up to her house admiring the bay window in one of the rooms on the second floor. My primal consciousness noted her dwelling forcing me to take a breath and noting its distinct smell like someone marking a spot on a map. This was a bit unsettling. I tried not to think about it, which was easy with Layla in the car. Layla turned, her fake colored brown hair swinging as she turned to look at me. I was suddenly cursing myself for taking her home so soon. I would regret it later, that was for sure.

Layla held the handle and smiled. Her smile was perfect, her lips naturally dark against her pale skin. She shifted her glasses slightly on the bridge of her nose. I just stared at her unable to say anything.

"Thanks for giving me a ride. I hate riding with my sisters' boyfriends," she said. I gave a delayed nod.

"Uh... Yeah. No problem. Anytime. Just say the word and I can give you a ride whenever you need it," I said. Layla smiled wide.

"Um... Okay," she said looking flustered at the ground. The door opened. Any opportunity for a romantic gesture was officially out the window. She slid out of my truck and took her backpack from my truck. She shouldered the backpack on and slammed the door. She waved delicately. "Thanks!" With that she trotted back to her house. I waited for her to go inside, watched her fumble for her keys. She was perfect in that moment. Then she disappeared into her house.

It took a second, but I finally found the strength to pull away.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	4. Her Interest

I do not own Blood and Chocolate, but if I did, I wouldn't change a thing.

* * *

**Layla:**

"No," I answered both Phoebe and Paulette. Identical faces fell in disappointment.

"He didn't kiss you?"

"We spent like forty-five minutes together. That hardly means that kissing is... appropriate," I said blushing furiously. Both sisters were in my room. We were having an emercgency girl-talk as secrets are hard to keep from the people who you were born in between. Suddenly Phoebe jumped at me and hugged me.

"Oh good! You're not a lesbian! That would have been weird," Phoebe said. I frowned at her. "What? Not bad, just weird."

"Shut up, Phoebes. She's had a trying day," Paulette said rushing to my defence. Jonas had dropped me off without a hitch. Granted there was that lingering moment before I got out of the car. He stared at me and I stared at him. I guess a kiss wouldn't have been too inappropriate. Okay, maybe I was silently praying that I wouldn't have to beg for that kiss. But he never leaned toward me. I was forced to leave empty-handed. Damn gentlemen and their manners!

Then I went home and discovered that my sisters had forced my father to go out and get chocolate, declaring it a PMS emergency, in order to make sure that he didn't see me come home early. How they knew this so quickly? Word travels fast in our small town. Especially when someone popular by association was talking to the one of the "weird" kids.) They'd also erased the message the school left about my ditching, I'd forgotten today was my day with an extra class and missed three classes.

But we were sisters through and through and erasing messages from school came with the territory of being family. Of course they demanded to know exactly what happened in my ditching as payment.

Now we were all sitting cross legged in my room. Something we hadn't had a chance to do for quite some time because my room was so "drab". Besides, we always chatted in the room of the person who was the source of the drama and nothing interesting has happened to me for quite some time. Now we were all huddled around the bins of chocolate chip brownies my father had gotten us from the store. I chewed thoughtfully unable to control my smile.

"The best part," Paulette said after my story was over. "He's rich."

"You're such a gold digger," Phoebe said.

Paulette rolled her eyes.

"Being rich is not a qualification for dating. It's just a plus, right Lay?" she said.

"I guess," I grumbled overlooking the brownie in my hand.

"Did he at least give you his number?" Phoebe asked. I frowned.

"No," I said. I dropped the brownie. "Maybe it didn't mean anything at all. Ugh... I'm so stupid."

"The boy chased after you and ditched his own classes. He likes you and you're stupid to think otherwise," Paulette declared. "He was probably so flabbergasted by you he didn't to do it. I promise you tomorrow at lunch he'll be combing the campus looking for you." She sipped a glass of milk. "Either that or you'll be doing the same for him." Phoebe giggled. It was that obvious, I realized, that this kid had me at the end of his line. It was just a matter of if he was going to reel me in or throw me back.

I swallowed hard.

"What do I do?" I asked them at the risk of their teasing. They both had confused, concerned looks on their faces. Like they didn't know quite what I was talking about. Like they didn't understand what I was feeling. "I mean, what do you do when you're this worried about what Charlie or Chris." Paulette was the first to give a sigh.

"Oh, Lay. Don't you worry. We'll make you very pretty for tomorrow," she promised quickly changing the subject. That's when I realized that this... whatever this was... was much deeper than what they had with their superficial boyfriends. I'd dug myself quite a hole in only forty-five minutes.

* * *

**Jonas: **

I couldn't sleep. It wouldn't let me. I laid back in bed listening to the sound of my fellow pack members in their wolf forms in the moonlight. They scampered and played and killed rabbits. Me, I was in my human form staring at the ceiling. I was too anxious to do anything but lay on my back, shake my leg, and think.

"_Her hair is fake_," the monster said. I sighed. I'd been listening to it talk about her for _hours_ now.

"I know," I grumbled in response outloud since no one was home to overhear me having a conversation with a completely separate consciousness.

"_She is too thin_," he said.

"Some females would kill to be that skinny," I said thoughtfully.

"_Ridiculous! It's does nothing for mating. And she wears those... things on her face_," it said with a hint of disgust. My face was red at the mention of mating. Now _that_ was jumping the gun a bit much.

"They're glasses," I corrected hanging onto the latter of that statement.

"_It is of no matter to me. It is distracting. I cannot see her face fully_." This worried me. I hadn't expected that the smell that had driven the monster would start to interfere lives other than my own, maybe my pack who was essentially another extension of me, but not a human. Not Layla. I was starting to get worried. Its obsession was uncomfortable.

"Just," I started with a sigh. The monster paused waiting for me to finish my sentence. "Just leave her alone."

"_HA! I think not!" _the monster scoffed as though I'd just asked to borrow a million dollars. I sat up and watched my family. My father led the hunt into the forest. My sensitive ears listened to the panicked, calling cries of the animals. Normally it was a calling that at least held some urge. Maybe I should go hunt with them, maybe I could jump Katrina from behind and nip his ear urging him to chase me. Maybe I could impress my father by reaching the kill first.

I shook my head. I looked outside at the meadow in front of our huge house. My instincts were allerted. I had no idea of what though.

"Jonas?" I nearly jumped through the roof. I looked at the doorway where my aunt was standing. My aunt?

"Aunt Marille?" I asked her. She was the rebel of the family. She never wanted to be a part of the pack, at least she did not appear to. She was a smart woman, a psychiatrist to be exact. She was stylish in a prissy sort of way, contrary to everyone else in the family. As my father's younger sister, I'd known her as she was reaching the late stages of puphood. Especially when she declared that she would never join the Carter pack every again.

And they agreed as long as she never gave her allegiance to any other pack. Which was fine with her. She never wanted to be part of any pack.

She spread her arms wide. I sat up from bed and gave her a hug.

"You're so big," she said ruffling my hair. I smiled weakly at her. Her blue eyes gazed into mine.

"What are you doing here?"

"Can't I visit my brothers and nephew?" she asked. I cocked an eyebrow.

"You can call, but you would never visit," I said suspiciously. Her faked smile fell. She knew I was right. "Smart boy." Suddenly I heard heavy footsteps. My father's scent wafted my way before I saw him.

"Marille?" my father said in disbelief.

"Marky Mark," Aunt Marille sang in a tone only sisters could get away with. They laughed and hugged, never minding the fact that my dad was still heavily underdressed, currently wearing a bathrobe since he was only seconds ago running around as a wolf.

"What brings you here?" my father seemed as confused as I was.

"I was concerned," Aunt Marille said. My father's smile fell. He looked at me, really it was just a glance, but I knew him. Something was wrong. He usually ignored me until I did something worth praising. I, in turn, decided there was something much more interesting on the hardwood floor.

"No, Marille," my father whispered. She raised an eyebrow. My interest was piqued.

"Well, someone needs to worry about him," she whispered louder as though she'd forgotten that my hearing was just as good as theirs. Me? Worried about me? Why? What did I do? They stared at one another dangerously as though they were having some unheard conversation. I looked around my own room awkward as they were blocking the doorway and the tension between them was growing. I cleared my throat. Aunt Marille glanced at me, then at my father.

"Jonas, would you like to go for a run with me?" she asked.

"I mean it, Marill. Don't," my father said raising his voice. She ignored him a way that no other would ignore any Alpha. Well, except for maybe me. I never listened to my father unless it looked like he was looking to fight me.

"No thanks," I answered Marille. She grinned a little bit.

"How about a drive?" she asked. That gained my interest. I heard of my Aunt's passion for cars. It was similar to mine, only she could afford a decent one. I heard she was fond of convertibles.

"Okay," I said picking myself up. This made my father snap a look in my direction. I froze. He was surprised. I normally declined any invitation of any company. He started to protest, then he softened a look.

"Alright," he said. "Be home soon. You have school in the morning."

"Sure," I said. With that she led the way down to her black convertible of some Italian brand I couldn't pronounce. It was beautiful. Aunt Marille opened the driver side door as I admired her car from afar. She glanced at me with a famous, dare I say, wolfish grin.

"You scratch it and I'll be forced to kill you and flee the country," she said. I snapped back to reality.

"Noted," I confirmed. I sat beside her and Aunt Marille sped down the country road. We were far from the city, a good distance from all the humans with prying eyes. We drove in silence for a while. I enjoyed the wind in hair. I loved speed, however sometimes I was just too lazy to run for it. It felt trite that I wanted to stick my head out the window with my tongue out.

"I spoke to your father on the phone," she said.

"I'm guessing that's why you're here," I said.

"_This is dull_," the monster groaned. It was ignorable.

"He told me all about you. You never want any company. You're always going off on your own. That's uncharacteristic of a werewolf.You're a strange pup," she said. I shrugged indifferently. I knew I was different. Frankly, it wasn't worth losing sleep over. Aunt Marille sighed. "I've never been good about beating around the bush."

"Then just say whatever it is you're trying to see," I said. Aunt Marille's mouth twitched as though she were debating. Finally she decided.

"I think you're a lone wolf," she said. My eyes widen, my mouth fell open. Had I been driving I would have braked so fast that any passenger would have flown out the windshield.

"W-What?" I said.

"You're a lone wolf," Aunt Marille said. She glanced at me. "Jonas, that's okay."

"It's not okay!" Lone wolves were weird. Lone wolves were creepy and obsessive. They were famous for lashing out and losing control. I felt my stomach drop. Lone wolves were dangerous killers. Me? I could go moons without even thinking of transforming. "No," I laughed. "You're wrong." Aunt Marille sighed in the night air.

"I'm a licensed psychiatrist now," she pointed out.

"Yeah? Do the meat-sacks have classes in werewolf psychology now?" I scoffed. Aunt Marille glanced sideways at me. I looked at her suspiciously. The wheels in my head were turning. "That's what you and my dad were talking about."

"He refuses to acknowledge that you might have a problem," she said.

"I don't," I said firmly. Of course not. I'd never lashed out at my family. I'd never fought for leadership of the pack. I never demanded for a mate. I wasn't a danger to anyone. I was mild-mannered Jonas. A quiet warm body to fill the empty space. Nothing more, nothing less. Aunt Marille scrathed an itch on her brow.

"Jonas," she said. "Do you hear voices?" The muscles in my face relaxed. I couldn't say anything. I couldn't think. The monster had no response to its presence being discovered. Aunt Marille looked my way. "Jonas?"

"No." I technically wasn't lying.

"_You only hear one voice_," the monster said reminding me of its presence. I staggered to breath. My brain went into panic. I searched for the handle of the car.

"I have to go," I said undoing my seatbelt.

"I'm not pulling over," Aunt Marille said. I leaned forward and kicked off my shoes while throwing my shirt over my head. Aunt Marille noticed me and went wide eyed. "Jonas!"

That's right. I was going to jump from a moving vehicle. Anything to get away from this conversation. Finally my jeans went off, then my boxers. I didn't care if my family saw me naked. We Changed in front of each other all the time. It was nothing anyone in my pack had never seen before.

"I know, Jonas! You're going to start having black outs! You'll start to lose control! You can hurt someone! Don't you start to jump from my car! I'm going sixty miles per-!" Brown hair covered me. My snout stretched out allowing easier detecting of smells. A tail sprouted from my spine. I couldn't hear her anymore. Still in mid transformation I jumped out of the car into the nearby brush. My landing was staggered, I nearly fell forward, but I was eternally graceful in my wolf skin. Not to mention strong and sturdy. I hit the ground running. Racing, zig zagging. Oh! I was running!

How could I **not** do this? Running was fantastic! Running was freedom!

"_It's glorious_," the monster said in as much awe as I was.

"_It is_," I was forced to agree running across the meadow in the pale blue light of the moon with euphoria coursing through my veins. I wanted to play, I wanted to fight, I wanted to chase. How was it that I repressed this urge month after month?

"_My host, this is my time_," the monster said. He was getting that Alpha tone again. This aggravated me. Not now, he couldn't order me around when I felt most free.

"_No, its not. It's mine_," I said.

"_You pitiful being. Not worthy of the moon. Now leave_," the monster said. Then suddenly, everything went black.

* * *

More to come soon. 


	5. Her Lure

Once more, I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own these characters though.

* * *

I felt like I was in the middle of a football game.

"Be aggressive, be, be agressive," Phobe cheered as she turned around to face me from the passanger seat beside Charlie. I frowned and glowered at her.

"You do that again and I will come up there and kick the crap out of you," I promised her from the back seat. Phoebe gave me a mock pout.

Did I mention that I hated football games?

"She's right, though," Paulette said to me. "Be aggressive. The look doesn't work with the attitude. Chin up, eyes forward, cocky smile. Remember, he should be so lucky to have the honor of being in your presence."

Chris pouted that he had to ride alone in the middle row while Paulette did some finishing touches on my make up.

As promised, I was completely made over. My sisters woke me up at **FIVE** in the morning dragging me out of bed and sitting me on a stool in the bathroom we shared. Our mother already at work and our father out of comission until noon since he worked nights, they sat me down and asked me who I wanted to look like. Cameron Diaz? Keira Knightly? Hayden Panettiere?

What's with all the blondes?

"Helen of Troy," I dared them grinning at my own reflection in the mirror. As dramatic as I found the comment I got nothing but blank stares from my sisters. I cocked an eyebrow. "Helen of Troy? The woman who was so beautiful wars were fought over her?" Still no reactions. "Come on! It was a movie! _Troy_? With Brad Pitt? Orlando Bloom?"

"Oh!" Paulette realized.

"My god! Hottest Brad Pitt movie ever!" Phobe said animatingly fanning herself. I rolled my eyes.

"You're too smart for your own good," Paulette said to me. And then the idea struck them. Hot. Nerd. The two could be combined.

I became project, "Naughty Secretary." Pencil skirt, dark maroon cardigan, matching low cut spaghetti strap, stillettos (that Phoebe would kill me over if I ruined), tight bun, and my glasses... well, there was some debate, but we ultimately decided they stayed on. We walked out of the parking lot. I looked for Jonas's truck. I couldn't find it anywhere. Then again, I'd been anxious to get to school this morning we were almost twenty minutes early.

Graciously, my sisters had dressed themselves down for my sake today. They flanked me as I made my entrance. Puffy clouds threatened for pour above us. They were little concern to me. Nothing would ruin my day. Nothing _could_ ruin my day, especially if I had anything to say about it. I swaggered past students unsure of what their stares meant. Did they recognize me? Did I look stupid? Was my dressing like this unexpected? Then I remembered something.

All the time I spent getting ready, I'd forgotton the only thing I always remembered. I reached into my bag that I'd swapped from my usual backpack today. My body spray, Strawberry Delight. I barely squirted any onto a drop of my finger, and dabbed on my clevage (which usually wasn't so dramatic, but I got to borrow Paulette's good-luck cheetah-print push-up bra today.)

Now I was ready.

* * *

**Jonas:**

I had never had such a good night's sleep, yet I was incredibly tired when I woke up. I groggily opened my eyes. The earth beneath me was warm with my body heat. I was curled up knees to my chest. No, I wanted to sleep a little more. Then the thunder clapped. This time was definitely awake. The thunder was much too loud. Too loud for me to be indoors.

I wasn't indoors! I was butt-naked in a bush. My head snapped upward. I glanced at my surroundings. Where the hell was I? I looked down at myself. It was a good thing I was hidden in this bush. What if I'd fallen asleep in someone's lawn? See! This is why I don't like to go through the Change! You do stupid things when you go out romping around like that! Only normally I'd have a memory of it. I remembered nothing. I was talking to my aunt and then...

Nothing.

I stood up hesistantly making sure there were no joggers or cars coming from either end of the street. I backed up and jumped over the backyard fence to the house next door. I let my senses take over and sniffed the air. There was no one home in this house. This house had a pool. I pushed the glass door open and looked in. Still, there were no strange scents.

I went to the master bedroom and borrowed some jeans that were too big for me, so I had to borrow a belt too. I took an under shirt and a bright blue button up shirt. Boy, the pack was going to freak that I wasn't wearing black like we usually did. And my dad? He was already going to flip out, I hadn't even come home last night. I glanced at the digital clock on the nightstand.

"9:00!" I shrieked. I was more than late for school. I was... really, really late for school. On the bright side, I had missed biology, but that was beside the point. I was screwed! I grabbed some shoes accidentally forgetting to grab some socks. Luckily my sensitive hearing could pick up the sound of our school bells. I was close. I ran outside still in complete panick mode. Only one thing made me come to a stop. I had to see the place I'd fallen asleep at last night.

Suddenly I knew exactly where I was.

I checked the street sign to make sure.

"Strawberry Lane," I said. "Layla's house." I looked at myself, at the street sign, and then the house again. How had I gotten here?

"_It was my destination. She has a comfortable dwelling_," the voice rumbled from within me. The monster. It'd taken me over.

I cursed to myself. What had I done? I had fallen asleep in her backyard!

"_You are getting _way_ too creepy_," I told the moster as I started to run at an inhuman speed toward school. The beast within me made a 'hmph' sound.

* * *

**Layla:**

Damn it! Where was he?

I paced in my own little corner where I usually read. It had begun raining (of course) and I wasn't even sure that Jonas was here today (who else had that kind of luck? No one, that's who.) My heels clacked on the pavement noisily and its straps were chaffing my now raw skin. Brunch was nearly over... Where was he? I glanced over at the popular table where my sisters were casually carrying a conversation while simultaneously tossing me glances. I insisted they didn't wait with me. With the group Jonas interacted with the popular crowd could scare him off.

Thunder clapped. The water poured off the side of the roof. Suddenly I heard pounding footsteps. I glanced up only to see a blur rushing by. It suddenly changed direction and turned toward me.

* * *

**Jonas: **

I was doing just fine hurrying to class until I detected that strawberry scent. The beast within me perked. Uh oh...

"_There she is! Pounce her! Make her show her belly_!" the monster within me shouted as it suddenly yanked me into another direction. Straight toward Layla who was innocently standing underneath the overhanging of the Art building.

"_No wait! Slow down!_"I threw on the emergency brakes which stopped me from throwing Layla roughly on the ground in a way that a human could not take. However, it did make me lose control. I lost my momentum, but Layla was still caught in the crossfire. We both slipped and fell in an inch deep puddle. People around us stared. I looked down. I was currently hovering over her.

Oh... god.

Layla blinked away her surprise. She grinned up at me.

"Hi," she breathed. Now we were soaking wet, just lying in a puddle. I cursed myself and allowed her to get up, offering her a hand. We both looked at ourselves. Me in... someone else's clothes and she... well, she looked like she was in someone else's clothes too. Though I had no idea why. The bell rang. Well, we couldn't very well go to class like this. The people around went around picking up their backpacks and getting their umbrellas.

Her sisters walked by us. I could see them grin at us and wave at Layla. One of them gave a thumbs up.

"Great. My shoes are ruined. I'm going to have to kill her. Or him," said one.

"Yeah. I guess there is such thing as something working _too_ well," said the other.

"Well? He practically jumped her! It's like someone dropped your sister in a vat of pheremones," said one of their boyfriends.

What worked too well? Then I noticed it. Her skirt, her skin tight shirt, her well placed bun, high heels worthy of being worn on the red carpet. They weren't Layla's. She let her sisters dress her up. For me? My heart fluttered. It actually fluttered, like a moth's wings. I never thought I'd ever be able to use that metaphor and mean it. I watched her as she wrung out the end of her skirt.

The monster inside me seemed contented upon this realization. Well, not contented really. It went from full on vying for her affections to leaping for joy within me. Victorious howls filled my head, it was the instantaneous gratifying sensation one gets when he finally clamps down on his kill. It was success!

She liked me.

I liked her.

And my alter ego **really** liked her.

This could either be very good or very bad.

"I am _so_ sorry," I finally remembered to apologize after the shock of my epiphany. I couldn't get over the fact that I, me, the great invisible Jonas, had managed to woo someone. Who knew I could have such a way with females?

"It's...um, okay," Layla said staring down at herself.

"You're soaked," I said. She shrugged.

"It's no big deal. I can change. I have my PE clothes in my locker," she said. I looked at myself. I should probably change too.

"That's probably a good idea," I said.

* * *

You like? There's more to come. This has been occupying my free time nicely though. (I have a lot of it)


	6. Her Books

And there's more! Wow, look at me go. This story is really getting all my attention. I can't stop thinking about this plot. Oh well. It's getting awesome reviews. Thanks a ton, guys!!!!

* * *

**Layla: **

Well, this morning's preparation was a giant waste of time. It wasn't my fault Jonas was late for class and I happened to be standing stupidly in his causing him to run me over like a freight train. At first there was the initial furiosity that my outfit, my Helen of Troy-ness, my Naughty Secretary, was ruined. Then I looked up and saw those brown puppy dog eyes and his ridiculous smile replaced by horror of what he'd done. It was easily forgiven, don't ask me how.

Boy, had I fallen hard. This strange boy, I just couldn't get him out of my mind. Then when I emerged from the girl's locker room in my PE clothes, given up on glamour in the rain I saw that Jonas had his matching uniform. An unflattering green and even more unflattering yellow which was our school colors. It didn't do any justice to either of us. But still he smiled at me and for the first time that day he said.

"Wow. You look great."

Ha! Wait until I tell Phoebe and Paulette that my PE clothes had gotten more of a reaction that their Naughty Secretary! He hooked his arm in mine and we wandered the halls like we'd done the day before. Ugh... This was terrible for my GPA because of all the ditching, but things were perfect when I wasn't distracted by my sisters or him and his crowd. In our hideous outfits and we walked under the overhanging of the buildings while it continued to pour. It was more romantic than anything I could have asked for today.

We stopped by a bunch of lockers. He sat down and beckoned me to sit beside him. I did, and I even pulled a move that Phoebe had told me she had patented. I shivered and dramtically rubbed my arms.

"Cold?" he asked me.

"Yeah," I said. Then quickly added. "It's okay though. It won't bother me once I get all numb." He paused to debate with himself. I saw it in his eyes. _Come on, take the bait,_ I silently urged.

"Here," he said. He draped his arm across me. What do you know? It works. I gave a closed mouth smile that was fighting to become a full blown grin. It was contained though, luckily, lest I look like an idiot. This was all new to me. This aggresive thing my sisters told me about might have something to it. It was way worth it to be sitting in smelly PE clothes leaned against Jonas watching the rain fall around us. I sighed contently.

"What exactly do you read?" Jonas asked. My ear was pressed against him, I could hear his voice reverbrate from within him.

"Classics," I said. He chuckled.

"Liar," he said. I was mildly surprised by this. I looked up at him.

"Liar?" I echoed.

"Yeah," he said. He tucked his almost long brown hair behind his ear only to have it fall in front of his face again. This close I could see a few miniscule freckles, the handsome curve of his nose. His lips that were slightly reddened by the rain and its chill in the air. "You can't tell me when you see a day like this you curl up with the good manditory reading of 'The Scarlett Letter' and appreciate the imagery or whatever it is you literature people do..." I smirked a little bit.

"Why not?" I asked.

"Because there's a good reason a lot of those author's killed themselves. It's depressing and boring," he said. I sighed.

"Well," I said. I grabbed my bag. "I do read other stuff, but that doesn't mean I don't read classics." Though I could never fit more than one in every two months. And I read everyday. But yesterday I had been inspired after Jonas took me home. I wanted to read to my heart's content. I wanted to be enveloped in adventures and celebrate my happiness. But I wasn't about to tell Jonas that he was the reason I ran down to the library practically skipping the whole way there.

I pulled out the latest books I'd borrowed.

He took them. "_Twilight_, _Blood and Chocolate_, and _Mediator_," he read out loud. He looked at the back of them.

"I might be a bit of a romantic," I admitted. That was putting it lightly. He gave a funny look at one of them. I saw it was "Blood and Chocolate". He read the back for a quiet moment. "Gothic romance, I guess," I clarified. He swallowed hard.

"You like werewolves?" he asked. His voice squeaked toward the end of his sentence.

"And vampires," I said with a shrug. "And ghosts."

"Well..." he started and then stopped.

* * *

**Jonas: **

I had almost said, "Well those two are myth," but that would imply that werewolves are true. Instead I stopped and pretended to read a few sentences. Then I handed her the book.

"Looks cool," I said. Layla smiled, her blushing was impossible to miss.

"It's girly," Layla admitted somewhat embarrassed. "But what can I say? I'm a girl." But something was bothering me. I shifted my sitting arrangement, Layla somehow managed to shift with me so that were were eye level with one another without me letting her go.

"What would you do-?" I started. But I choked on the words. I couldn't just blurt out, "What a coincidence! _I'm_ a werewolf!" There was no delicate way about this was there? "What would you do if there were vampires?" I finally decided to use them as an example. Layla sighed heavily and watched the rain again. She picked up "Twilight."

"At this point in the book I'd have to propose to him," she laughed flipping to her bookmarked page that was halfway through the thick book.

"_KILL THE VAMPIRE_!" the monster shouted jealously from within me. I almost laughed, which would have only frustrated my inner beast more.

"_Relax, there's no vampire_," I coaxed it. It calmed almost immediately.

But something about this bothered me. She couldn't really be _okay_ with something like this could she? Our infatuation was doomed to begin with, wasn't it? Watching me go through the Change right in front of her would be more horrifying, than fascination, wouldn't it? The fact that I loved ripping apart a live animal and devouring it would make her squimish, right? I mean, she sure as hell wouldn't want to kiss me after seeing _that_. I wasn't convinced.

I returned to our vampire analogy.

"Really? I mean, what about the bloodsucking? What about the violence and the parts of their world you don't understand? It would be like a whole other country with a new set of laws. What about the other vampires? What if they didn't like you?" I asked maybe a little too quickly. Layla giggled.

"I don't know. I guess that would be the fun of it all," she said. My eyebrows went up. This girl had some moxie. The beast within me gave a delighted rumble that was somewhere between a purr and a growl. Layla shifted as though she were getting excited just thinking about it. "The adventure, the romance, the whole Shakespear of star-crossed lovers. Come on, I mean, it has _some_ appeal, doesn't it?"

"_It sounds like she would be attracted to me as much as she would be attracted to you, my host. Maybe even more so_," the beast said with a dangerous chuckle. That thought made my jaw clench angrily. It stopped as though it were pondering something. It wasn't fair that it could look into my head and I had no idea what it was thinking.

"No, its different when it refers to real life," I tried to argue with the beast. Oops. I had said that in my head didn't I? Apparently not judging by the way she was looking at me. I laughed nervously. "I mean, luckily, this is a hypothetical situation." Layla leaned back against me.

"Yeah, but it would be cool," she said with a sigh and staring off dreamily.

"_It would_," the monster agreed with her. The bell rang, forever our classes were distraction. The people spilled out of the classrooms, filling the empty halls with pointless murmuring. Layla and I matched each other's disappointed faces.

"I have a test in my next class. Ditching's not an option," she said regretably. I sighed. She stood up, taking away her warmth with her. A perfect moment ruined. But I should probably start going to class again too. "See you at lunch?"

"Su-" I almost agreed. Horror struck me. I'd completely forgotten my pack! I was supposed to hang out with my pack every lunch. We weren't supposed to hang around humans for obvious reasons, which was why we went around walking around like gothic freaks. But... I was torn. What about Layla? They weren't going to let her sit with us. Not by a long short. "Er..." Layla waited expectingly for an answer blinking her big innocent brown eyes behind her glasses.

"_To hell with the pack_!" the monster said. I couldn't think. I had no brilliant plan.

"O...kay," I said reluctantly. What else could I say?

* * *

Yay for another chapter!


	7. Her Duel

I don't own Blood and Chocolate. Also, there might be a few similarities to Twilight, so I don't own that either. However, I do own my characters.

* * *

**Layla:**

Being forced to wear my PE clothes all day wasn't so bad. I did try to stay a comfortable distance from everyone to keep them from smelling my stale stuffed-in-a-locker smell, but all in all it was okay. At the beginning of lunch I caught up with Phoebe. She looked at me and laughed.

"Looked like what's-his-face took quite a liking to you," she said. Paulette joined us. I handed her shoes over.

"His name is Jonas," I reminded. "We're going to hang out at lunch."

"Should've figured it would have taken a boy to get you away from your books," Paulette teased.

"Hey! Are we done with the dorky sister show yet?" Charlie shouted from the Popular Table. I flipped him the bird. Paulette covered my hand with both of hers.

"Uh huh, so here's the question of the day," she said by way of distracting me from her stupid boyfriend. "Are you sitting at the Freak Seats?" I looked over across the quad where the kids with piercings and underaged tattoos sat. I hadn't thought about them.

"I... don't know," I said suddenly realizing. Paulette rolled her eyes at Phoebe who shook her head.

"Heed some advice?" Phoebe said.

"Advice?"

"Don't sit with them," they both chorused. I looked from one to the other.

"Why? I mean... If Jonas hangs out with them how bad can they be?" I said. That was about the time one boy jumped on another sending them tumbling across the grass, right through an aluminum trash can that dented on their impact. My eyes widened.

"Because if you get in their crowd and start doing whatever PCP Steroid cocktail they're doing we're not going to be the ones bailing you out of jail," Paulette said.

"Hey! Princess!" Chris shouted from their table. Phoebe snarled.

"Give us a second, horn dog!" she snapped. They both turned to me.

"Good luck!" said Paulette.

"Don't forget you owe me new shoes," Phoebe said. They left me standing there in the middle of the school. Normally I did fine on my own. I could just ignore the world and read, come to think of it I wouldn't mind emersing myself in the ending of "Twilight" right now. But for once, I had something better to do.

I waited for Jonas.

"Hey!" Jonas said to my eternal relief. I spun around with a smile on my face. Jonas looked at me for a moment. I shifted my bag onto my shoulder.

"Hey, so... uh..." I started. Suddenly Jonas's face fell. He looked almost horrified. I felt a hand clamp down on my shoulder.

"Hey, Jonas!" said a male voice. I looked up to see a large body standing behind me. His hair was spiked on one hemisphere of his head, shaved on the other. And to give a brief description of his nose rings, they jangled whenever he moved his head. "What's up? We missed you last night."

**

* * *

**

Jonas:

Poor Layla was trying to be a good sport, she knew I hung out with these people and wanted to be friendly. It was unfortunate that Tommy was about the least friendly person in the world when it came to humans.

"Yeah," I said looking down at my PE clothes. I was far too brightly colored for my taste. "I went for a run."

"Really? All night? Your dad was worried," Tommy said. I cursed inwardly. My father would want an explanation and I was going to have to come up with a better excuse than, "I fell asleep in a human's backyard."

"Lay off," I whispered to Tommy nodding at Layla. Layla looked from me to Tommy. There was a moment of awkwardness.

"Tommy, this is Layla. Layla, Tommy," I introduced. Tommy's brow furrowed at me. Introductions were unnecessary when it came to humans. Normally when associated with one we assumed we'd never speak to them again.

Layla spun around out of Tommy's hold with a natural grace that impressed me and pleased the Monster, as she was so obviously rejecting this dominant gesture from him. She stood beside me and extended a hand offering it to be shaken, "It's nice to meet you," she said politely. Tommy ignored her.

"Yeah. Anyway, make sure you talk to your dad," Tommy said to me. I sighed. Layla looked from beside me.

"Is that your friend?" she asked.

"We grew up together," was my response. We turned around. The rain had stopped again, but small the moist air blew threatening to sprinkle.

"_He touched her_," the Monster rumbled dangerously. I tried to ignore it. "_Challenge him_."

"Excuse his rudeness. He's a bit of an ass..." I said a bit too loudly.

"_Excuse_ me?" Tommy questioned. It was a bad move on my part. I knew that. I shouldn't have said anything, but I couldn't help but replay the event over and over again. I must really be obsessed the way it bothered me. Him coming up to Layla, dropping his hand on her shoulder. The way he made her feel uncomfortable. It didn't seem to bother her too much. I knew she was a human old enough to take care of herself though she was slightly naive about the world of supernatural.

But he shouldn't have touched her.

**

* * *

**

Layla:

There was a tense moment as Jonas turned to face this Tommy guy who was watching us go.

"What? You're going to sit with her?" he said flicking his head toward me angrily. I glanced at Jonas half expecting him to shrug an apology to me and go join his friends. Instead Jonas glared at Tommy, jaws clenched, hands tightened into fists. I was surprised to realize that there was going to be a fight. I swallowed hard glancing back at my sisters. It was then I realized that the entire school was watching. Everyone knew these kids had the best fights because even play fighting they could throw one another across the quad if they wanted to, it was what added to their intimidating mysteriousness that no one wanted to get involved with. This was a _real_ fight.

The table of punks and Goths my sisters had so kindly labelled as "The Freak Seats" all sat up at once. I clutched my bag tightly. All of the sudden this was turning into something very bad.

"Jonas, what's with you?" Tommy asked. I looked back at Jonas.

"Nothing's with me," Jonas said narrowing his glare.

"Then what's with the-... her?" Tommy said.

"That's none of your business," Jonas said.

Another dark haired girl with pink streaks stepped beside him Tommy.

"She's not one of us," she said never making eye contact with me. I wondered if it was normal for these people to talk about other's like they weren't even in the conversation. I stayed quiet for my own good. Besides, things were just getting interesting.

"Stay out of this, Katrina," Jonas snapped.

Tommy stepped forward in between them.

"Don't talk to her like that," he said. They're faces were mere inches apart. They're eyes locked in a staring match. A fight was going to break out any second. All I could do was watch just like all of the other onlookers. The moment was tense and even in the stillness the excitement didn't die down. I stepped aside knowing that a fight was inevitable.

"She's not-" Tommy started but before he could get another word Jonas swung a punch.

"Jonas, no!" the girl named Katrina shouted. But it was no use. The two were scrambling at one another. Taking turns throwing one another at the ground and throwing punches.

**

* * *

**

Jonas:

The monster within me was going crazy. There was some sick pleasure rumbling inside of me that was satisfied with the feeling of my punches hitting soft skin, ignoring the cries of my pack as we were starting to become serious. Our blows weren't just aiming for the face, we were starting to aim for critical blows. Grabbing hair and pounding heads into the ground.

Tommy was on the ground bleeding from the nose when I walked over, picked him up by the ground and threw him into the trash cans about eight feet away. Then I leapt at him from that inhuman distance and stood over him. I'd never hated anyone like I hated him at that point. I never wanted to have my teeth in another one of my own pack. I never stared at one of their jugular veins and drooled at the sight of it.

I pulled away and felt a familiar feeling of my skull cracking. My snout was beginning to sprout as I let the Change fall upon me. My human teeth would not do as much damage as I'd like to make.

"_Yes_," the monster within me hissed. "_Now they will ALL know what happens when someone touches our mate_." At that moment I couldn't agree more that a demostration was necessary.

"Jonas! We're in public!" shouted Katrina.

That's what stopped me. I looked at myself standing above Tommy going through the Change. I looked at the people around me. **What was I doing?**

Luckily, the pack had heard the sounds of my bones rearrange in my face to let the Change fall upon me.

"Cover him!" Tommy shouted. Then all five of the high school pups from my pack jumped me, covering my head with jackets and backpacks. I felt a rush of embarrassment as I forced the Change on myself reluctantly. My pack, Tommy, who I had attacked, had only been doing their job trying to pry me away from Layla. Protecting our secret. Finally I was normal again.

I felt a supervisor yank me from the ground to my feet. I blinked with surprise as I found my stance. We were all standing in a half circle. The show was over. Luckily it didn't seem like the other students had seen what I was because they were easily dismissed at the sight of the supervisor.

"What the hell is going on?" the supervisor yelled. We were all quiet. Even Layla who hadn't abandoned me even at the end of the fight, though she did look confused.

"Nothing, ma'am," Tommy immediately answered. He tossed me a glare. "We were just messing around."

"You've destroyed school property," the supervisor said crossing her arms across her chest. "What do you have to say for yourself Jonas?"

I'd lost too much self control in forcing myself to hold back the Change.

"Send my father a bill," I said. Tommy rolled his eyes. He looked my way.

"Very _funny_, Jonas," he said through grit teeth narrowing his eyes telling me silently to shut up. I really should shut up. The supervisor started to give us a lecture. My thoughts wandered. I thought about the monster that had just taken me over. It'd almost killed Tommy. It had almost given away the secret of my species. If I'd done that my pack would be forced to execute me. I was so stupid! All because Tommy had touched Layla, because he'd put his hand on her shoulder.

My Aunt Marille's voice echoed in my head. _You're going to start having black outs! You'll start to lose control! You can hurt someone!_

I could have hurt Layla earlier today when I accidentally knocked her down. I could have killed my own pack mate. It dawned at me that my Aunt Marille was right. I was a Lone Wolf.

"Now, Thomas, Jonas, if you'll come with me to the office I'm going to call your parents," the supervisor said. The bell rang and crowds started to fill out back to their classes. I looked at Layla who already had her bag on her shoulder. The pack started to separate. Tommy followed the supervisor. I quickly walked up to Layla.

"I'm so sorry," I said up front. What I was sorry for when it came to Layla I had no idea.

"Um," Layla said awkwardly. She smiled weakly. "It's okay." I sighed.

"Layla..." I wanted to tell her things I shouldn't tell her. I wanted to tell her that she was the coolest human I'd ever met. I wanted to tell her that I was sorry for ever putting her in danger. I wanted to tell her goodbye because after today, no one was ever going to let me see her again. Instead my throat dried up. She waited expectingly. "Today was fun," I said. I swallowed. "You looked... great today. You know before I knocked you into a puddle."

Layla smiled. Ugh... Why did she have to smile? I felt more guilty, more torn than ever.

"I'm in a lot of trouble," I said. "A LOT of trouble." Layla's face fell.

"We can't hang out anymore, can we?" I don't know how she came to that conclusion. She must have been reading my mind. Layla's eyes dropped to the ground and the heavy clouds started to pour again. She sighed.

* * *

**Layla:**

Our first full day today together was going to be our last. It was plain by the look on his face. It figured that the greatest, most romantic thing to ever happen to me would also be the shortest.

_Be agressive. Be, be agressive,_ Phoebe's cheer she gave me this morning entered my mind causing me to smile. Well, I wasn't going to let this moment pass by when I was never going to experience it again. So I leaned forward and touched his cheek gently. My lips touched his, too quickly, so he couldn't react. It was a peck. Just a goodbye kiss on the lips. I pulled away blushing and seeing Jonas's face go just as red. He looked frozen.

"See you around," I said turning and going to class.

I couldn't believe I'd just done that. Then as I walked to my class the rain fell much harder. My hair was drenched. I felt my eyes sting as drops of water fell in them. They fell off my lashes. I wasn't sure if I was crying or not, but I sure was sad to leave him. I had to stop and look over my shoulder as the supervisor took him to the office.

* * *

So sad. Don't worry though. It's not the end. 


	8. Her Heartache

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way!

**

* * *

**

Layla:

At home I wanted to finish reading "Twilight" and see if Bella survived the attack from that one vampire. Could Edward save her? Of course he could. It was a book. Everything always worked out perfectly for them. I laid on my bed, my book was open on my chest at the part where I'd stopped.

I couldn't stop thinking about him.

Someone knocked on the door.

"No. I don't want to talk about it yet," I told whichever sister happened to be knocking on the door this time. What could it have been? What made his group not like me so much? What made Jonas lash out on that guy? Where had that violence come from?

I swallowed hard.

How had my own romance story ended so quickly?

"Lay-Lay, you can't stay in there that whole day," Paulette said.

"Leave me alone," I grumbled.

"Why did your boyfriend get all crazy?" Phoebe asked from the other side of the door.

"He's not my boyfriend," I said. Saying it out loud had brought a little bit of pain. I picked up my book and sighed. How come it could work for them? What was wrong with my story? The doorknob jiggled. "If you don't back off you can forget about me replacing those shoes!"

They heeded my warning leaving and grumbling something about me being a brat.

"It's no big deal," I told myself. I put my book aside and curled up in my bed. I hadn't even bothered to get dressed again after taking a shower. I just threw on a robe, made sure neither Phoebe or Paulette were around and gotten myself a hot chocolate. "It was an experience. A quick romance. God knows I was due for one."

Jonas was just a boy. He... I sighed.

Who was I kidding? For God's sake, I'd told him that I read romance novels instead of classic literature! Even my sisters didn't know that! I started to read "Twilight" again.

Well, what do you know? Edward saves her. Shocking...But it was so good! My heart wrenched jealously. Even a vampire and a human could live happily ever after. Why couldn't I?

"Its not fair," I grumbled. My mind wandered again reassuring myself that it was something to learn from. A life lesson in getting involved with boys. The thing I was most grateful for though was that at least I'd kissed him. That was a ballsy move if ever there was one. I wouldn't have done it if I thought I was ever going to be able to be with him again. Even though we didn't technically have a relationship (for lack of a better word, but it was too small to even call itself that) and we'd never told each other we liked each other, there was _something_ there.

I put down "Twilight" and picked up "Blood and Chocolate." Hopefully this one didn't have such a delightful ending.

**

* * *

**

Jonas:

It was practically a state of emergency when I got home. The adults were all arguing with one another in the kitchen. They were yelling about me attacking Tommy. They said that I was a danger to the pack. I heard that much as we got closer. In the center of it all Aunt Marille was quietly sipping on some tea on the table top with her legs crossed in a lady-like manner. As soon as Tommy and I were ushered into the kitchen the bickering came to a pause, but not an immediate halt.

"What is wrong with you?" my father came around the kitchen's island and spat at me. I sighed unwilling to hear a gigantic lecture. I nearly Changed in front of the entire student body in order to kill one of my pack mates. I mean, I get it! I screwed up!

"I already told you what's wrong with him," Aunt Marille sang under her breath. That earned her a deadly glare which she ignored by swirling her tea with a spoon. My father sighed.

"Will you please excuse my son and I? This pup needs a talking to. Tommy, good job. You and the rest of the pups did an excellent recovery covering Jonas up like that," my dad said. Tommy nodded respectfully.

"Thank you, sir," he said sparing me the cocky glance. Whatever. I wasn't looking for any approval from my dad. The adults left us. Aunt Marille didn't budge through.

"Sister, would you mind?" he said. Aunt Marille looked up and opened her mouth up to say something.

"Dad, its okay. I think she needs to be here," I said. With that my father's lecture was put on hold. Aunt Marille hopped off the table she'd been sitting on and stood up. "I think Aunt Marille's right... I am a lone wolf."

"So, you have accepted the truth?" Aunt Marille said in a very _Star Wars_ tone. I gave a grim smile. My father rolled his eyes.

"Am I allowed in this conversation at all?" he barked. He always had to be involved. He was the freaking Alpha. Aunt Marille and I exchanged glances.

"Lone wolves have a different attachment toward certain things," Aunt Marille informed him. "Most of the time its people. Certain people, whether they're werewolf or not. The incident with the girl..." Dad's eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. Here it comes...

"A HUMAN?" he barked. Aunt Marille set down her tea.

"It's okay, Mark," she coaxed quickly.

"It is _not_!" my father cried.

"Look, I'm a professional. I've been studying this while I was getting my doctorate," Aunt Marille said. My father shook his head now utterly confused.

"How? There's no werewolf psychology. That lone wolf thing is just a myth thousands of years old to explain why so many werewolves had turned on one another," he argued. I saw Aunt Marille's jaw clench, biting back a retort as she looked at her older brother. She took a breath.

"There are wolf behavior studies. Lone wolves in the wild come from not being able to fit in anywhere. Jonas might not fit in the pack, so this person, along with some hormones, draws his attachments from elsewhere. He's not like other werewolves, Mark. Werewolves act like puppies when they're with their own kind acting on their own wild instincts. Jonas has suppressed that wolf part of him for a long time," she said. My dad couldn't argue with her. I found a seat at the kitchen table seeing as how I wasn't a part of this conversation anymore.

"So what are you saying? He should run with the pack more? Should I start him on anti-depressants too?" my father said sarcastically and starting to pace. Aunt Marille put on an annoyed look only she could get away with giving an Alpha.

"No," she said.

"Well, what can we do?" he asked.

"Nothing. However, he is a liability to the pack as long as he's here in the same town as that human," Aunt Marille said. "If she starts to date someone else..."

I immedaitely gripped the end of the table upon hearing that. I did not like that idea. "_That will not happen," _the monster within me said.

"Or if someone poses any sort of threat to her..."

"_That will certainly not be tolerated_!"

"...He will attack with no regard to who sees him or anyone else's safety," she finished. My father's face softened. If I ever blew our secret he knew what he would have to do. He would have to execute me. "He has no control to his wild side. It's a completely separate consciousness within him." The monster that spoke to me, I realized. He called me human. He said that he was the wolf. Maybe I was the human part of me and he was the wolf, the beast part of me.

"So what do we do?" my father asked.

"Keep him away from her," Aunt Marille said glancing at me. I felt like I'd just been delivered a blow to my pride. I knew what she was talking about. She thought I was going to sneak off to go see Layla. She was right, that thought had entered my mind the second I knew I could never see Layla again. "He needs around the clock surveillance."

"No, I don't," I protested standing up. I was not about to let myself be babysat the rest of my life.

"Sit down, Jonas," my father said quietly. I did reluctantly relaxing back in my seat. "What is attracting him to her?"

"Scent," Aunt Marille said. She rounded the kitchen back to the place she was first sitting at and pulled out a giant folder. It opened with a loud THWAP as thousands of messy pages fell out. She pulled out a small section and showed test results and statistics. "Certain people give off this scent. It attracts lone wolves of the opposite sex the same way one attracts a mate. So if a male lone wolf were to come into our territory, he would be attracted to this girl the same way."

"Other lone wolves would attack Layla too?" I voiced. What if someone as crazy as me liked Layla the same way? What if they had less restraint than I did and accidentally hurt her?

"So this girl could blow our cover if any other lone wolves come our way, too?" he asked. Aunt Marille nodded.

"I worked on this information with another werewolf psychologist in San Francisco. Our research was VERY thorough though I couldn't contribute as much as I wanted to because I was finishing my doctorate..." she went on. But I couldn't listen when my thoughts were still stuck on Layla. I leaned my head into my hands. She could be in danger if another werewolf came into the territory.

"We'll have to watch her, as well," my father said under his breath. He looked at me. It always kind of annoyed me that we looked exactly alike, the same dark hair and dark eyes. He gave me an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, Jonas."

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	9. Time

One year later...


	10. Her Encounter

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way!

* * *

**Jonas:**

No, not one year could ever get that strawberry scent out of my head. Or my nose, I guess. Layla did manage on her own just like Katrina and Tommy had promised. They were my personal babysitters, one or the other was always following making sure I didn't sneak away to visit her. They ran with me. They went to class with me (my father had pulled some strings), and now there were silent alarms on the entire house.

It was a little more than annoying. Now I was the pack mate with the problem. People couldn't leave me alone, because I might run away. Even Aunt Marille wouldn't leave, even though she wasn't technically part of the pack my father asked her to stick around in case he needed to know some information about LWS (lone wolf syndrome, that's right. They made it an abbreviation. Could be worse I guess. They could have called it Jonas Disease or something.)

In the beginning it was difficult to control the monster. I blacked out a lot during the first few months and tried to run to her house. In which I was always caught and dragged back home. But nothing ever happened at school. I was most contented there because I could see her and smell her and know she was doing fine. Call me obsessed, but I had perfect attendance.

I guess some good came out of this. Tommy and Katrina were officially dating. My father was looking to them to be the new Alphas because, you know, there was no way I could now. However, those two being my babysitters was obnoxious because they were all over each other, one eye on me, other eye on one another. It was kind of gross. I hoped I hadn't looked so pathetic the one and a half days we were together.

And then there's Layla.

Its hard not to sigh when I think about her.

Layla didn't grow much in height, but her slender body gained a natural curve that she didn't accentuate like her two sisters. Instead of dying her hair a mousy brown, she opted for a brown with tinted red. Her hair was longer now and occasionally she curled the ends, otherwise it was in a constant state of pony tail. She still dressed plain, but she didn't look plain. She could be as stunning as her sisters, but I thought her glasses gave her a subtle charm.. Then again maybe it was just me, after all, I was biased. Her legs were a little longer and the curves gave her an unintended swagger to her step. Not that I was looking...

Okay, I was. But all I could do was look! I couldn't talk to her. I couldn't be next to her. I couldn't even be there to save her when a stray football hit her dead on and gave her a concussion the day before winter break! All this torture had taught me agonizing restraint. But restraint only goes so far.

* * *

**Layla:**

I turned out to be quite the busy person once I stopped reading so much. I wrote a column in the school newspaper, found a new love for animals of all sorts (and became vegetarian), and tutored in my spare time. Granted most of the time it was one of my sisters and it was my parents that forced me to tutor them, but occasionally one of their friends came looking for help.

Other than that, I still had no life. I still sat around by myself reading when I had the time and I only had two more years until graduation. I had to go to a university, as much as I loved my sisters I was not going to community college just to stick around with them.

My love life? Ha! Love life... That's funny.

My sisters were still always looking to set me up with football players and the drummer of the coolest band. Apparently looks don't account for taste. I've talked to those people and there's not much going on in their brain other than loud music or sport statistics. I was beginning to wonder if all guys were like that.

But I knew better from first hand experience that some guys were not idiots. I still thought about Jonas. It was hard to ignore when you catch a pair of eyes glancing at you from across the quad, then try to look away pretending to do some math homework. He still looked at me, which made me feel special, but also sad because I remembered how hard it was that day when it felt like my whole galaxy had collapsed on itself. That fateful day one year ago was known between my sisters and I as "The Freak Seat Incident."

Jonas grew up a LOT in the past year. I mean, that kid shot up like four inches in height. His jaw became more masculine and he'd cut his hair in a sideways, emo angle. I wasn't fond of the look compared to his boyish charm I'd seen when we had a fondness for one another, but his overall look made up for it. His muscles had grown (I guess he started working out) and his hair was dyed black like the rest of his friends. He still wasn't as punk or Goth as his friends, but he often wore black muscle t-shirts and his jeans were always torn and frayed.

I will admit that walking away it was hard to ignore the butt an underwear model would kill for. Yes, I looked. There's nothing wrong with being attracted to an attractive guy, even if you did have a history. A short, wonderful history that still entered my mind from time to time... to time to time... and some more time. Okay! I'm a little bit stuck on the guy, that's allowed isn't it?

I sighed. Maybe I really did need a boyfriend to get my mind off of him.

Currently I was watching my feet, hand on one backpack strap on my shoulder. I still didn't have a car. There was no relenting from my parents on that issue. But walking gave time for my thoughts to dwell elsewhere. I thought about that day when I wore the "Naughty Secretary" outfit, then being all snuggled up in my PE clothes. I started to cross the street.

"Look out!" someone shouted. My head snapped up. Oops! I had crossed the street at the wrong time. A car had been pulling into the street I was cross. It screeched to a halt. I looked at the maroon red old convertible. The guy inside it stuck his head out the window.

"Bitch! Watch where you're-!" he stopped in his sentence suddenly. I didn't recognize him. He and I met gazes. He had short blonde hair, blue eyes. From the size of his muscles that were practically hanging out of his car he was either a jock, a delinquent , or both. I blinked at him and slowly moved out of the way, my heart still racing from the near death experience.

A flare of anger raised up inside me.

"Don't be an ass," I spat at him, raised my head and continued towards school. Of course, I hated confrontation so I didn't dare look back. The car sped by as I made my way to school with the other endless crowds of kids. But I saw icy blue eyes in the rearview mirror as it roared away.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	11. Her Stand

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way!

* * *

**Layla:**

I sat around the table with my sisters at the Popular Table. It was still too early for the rest of the crowd to get there which meant I was temporarily welcome until Phoebe and Paulette's friends commanded their attention. They greeted me with matching smiles as I dropped my bag down on the bench.

"Well, hello there Sunshine!" Phoebe said sarcastically. I guess my expression reflected my morning.

"Some jerk nearly ran me over with a car," I muttered.

"Did you flip him off?" Paulette asked.

"No," I said. I squeezed about an inch space of air between my forefinger and my thumb. "But I was that close to dying and he had the nerve to call me a bitch."

"Did you see the new kids?" Phoebe asked completely changing the subject. I'd vented so I was willing to switch my focus.

"New kids?" I echoed in a tired tone. I didn't care. They were the only reason I was up to date on the happenings of the school.

"God! Would you get your nose out of a book for five seconds to observe your surroundings?" Phoebe said rolling her eyes. She stood up, uninvitingly grabbed made face and turned it in the direction of three incredibly beautiful people. I blinked.

One of them was looking my way. The jerk who nearly hit me with the car. I stared for a moment before I recovered from the shock.

"Would you stop touching my face, you weirdo?" I said ripping her hands off my cheeks. Paulette grinned and bit the end of her pencil at one of them. They all turned away. She sighed. "You have a boyfriend, Paulie."

"I know. I didn't say I didn't," she said. "There's no harm in looking." The three people consisted of the blonde boy, a red haired girl, and the tallest, an Asian boy. They talked to one another from afar. Each of them were dressed incredibly stylishly, like they'd all gotten their clothes directly from the hottest New York stores. Hair was gelled to perfection, but just like the blonde boy they were all incredibly toned and tall.

"What's their story?" I asked.

"Something about them moving from Massachusetts. I guess they're all adopted or something. Parents must be incredibly rich," Paulette deducted. I trusted her. She had an uncanny perception for people. "My guess? This is their first time in a public school. They look totally out of place."

They did. All of them poised and relaxing comfortably, all of them with cocky smiles. The girl often turned and said something behind her hand. The guys giggled.

"They'll be sitting at our table in no time," Paulette said. Phoebe nodded. She hopped off the table and wriggled a little to get her too-short skirt to a slightly more modest level. Paulette joined her.

"Come on," she said.

They walked together, clacking heels clicking on the pavement in rhythm. I felt my eyes widen. I clomped after them in my converses that were completely out of pattern with their's. I stopped in front of them. "What are you doing?" I asked them in appall.

"We're inviting them to the popular table," Paulette said.

"Why? You don't even know them," I squeaked.

"Because look at them. They're cool," Phoebe explained gesturing to them. I sighed.

"That's the guy that almost killed me this morning. He's an ass!" I said. Both sisters stopped, they're gaze just about my eye level. I hadn't contemplated why until it was too late and I had already said something stupid.

"It's not very nice to make assumptions about someone you don't even know," said a voice. My face lost all expression as I realized that, of course, they were standing right behind me. I turned around and faced them slowly backing up. The blonde one smiled almost sarcastically.

"Don't mind our sister," Phoebe apologized obviously not sensing what I was from them. "She's socially challenged." I was too stunned to acknowledge the insult. These tall Amazonian-like people stood before us, their presence commanding attention. The blonde one smiled through the corner of his mouth at me.

"And you are...?" he said. Was I the only one who could hear the danger his words were dripped in?

"This is our sister, Layla," Paulette answered for me as I stared stupidly.

"Is she mute? Let her answer," the red haired girl said. I cocked an eyebrow at Phoebe and Paulette. Talk about rude...

"Its nice to meet you, Layla," said the blonde reaching out and picking up my limp hand to shake. "I'm Michael, this is Bridget, and Anthony." I looked at each one of them. I turned around to leave, not bothering to say anything. My alert level was on an ultra high, which is probably why when I turned around to walk away I gasped at what I saw.

Someone had paid us a visit from the "Freak Seats." Tommy, Katrina, and...

_Jonas. _

I felt my eyes bulge. Jonas. One year, and here he was. Just standing there like... like I don't know like what. I just had never expected to see him this close ever again.

"Geez! Breathe Layla!" Paulette said slapping my back. I gasped.

"Hi," I choked. Tommy and Katrina walked around me. I blinked a few times at Jonas. There was a small moment where I thought I saw in him exactly what I felt. I wanted to jump up and hug him, then slap him for making me wait this long before he decided to talk to me again.

Then, all of the sudden, he tore his gaze away from mine and stepped around me. I guessed he wasn't going to talk to me. I watched him with a small strike of pain. Dull, but still painful. Like a bad emotional papercut.

"Hi," Tommy introduced himself to Michael standing tall. My sisters gave me a concerned look. I knew exactly what they were thinking. What were the freaks doing here, talking to "cool" people? Jonas joined them looking almost reluctant.

Tommy looked over his shoulder at us. Katrina mimicked him. And Jonas refused to look at me, like I wasn't even there.

"You mind? We want to talk alone," Katrina said to my sisters and me. This time I was getting mad. I'd already had bad morning. I felt my eyes narrow. Paulette and Phoebe said something under their breath and started to walk away.

"That's pretty rude," I said to Katrina. The tall intimidating Goth turned to face me, strand of pink hair intermixing with the black hair underneath. She was about to say something when Michael interrupted.

"Yeah. I think Layla can be a part of this conversation," Michael invited. Tommy, Katrina, and Jonas all looked at one another. All eyes turned to me. That would be my cue to leave most days, but not the day when I was nearly run over, called a bitch, and had my last romantic fling walk back into my life after a year and barely even look at me.

Oh no. Now I was pissed.

"Please," I said. "Go on."

"We can't exactly speak until you're gone," Tommy said to me, his voice low, almost a growl. I stood still.

"So," I continued ignoring Tommy, "You almost kill me this morning. Now you want to talk?" I said to Michael. Jonas shot a look at Michael.

"What?" he growled. Jonas' eyes narrowed at Michael much like me, only I think his look of intimidation was much better. It was actually very good. Scary good. I started to feel the strange tension again. It was something I hadn't felt since one year ago at the "Incident" right before Jonas had attacked Tommy.

"Jonas, we agreed," Katrina said in a warning tone and nudging him in the side. Jonas calmed a tad. A very small tad. The attention shifted to Michael.

"It was an accident. She practically jumped in front of my car," Michael said with his hands up defensively. Jonas started to move towards him. Tommy put a hand on his shoulder and pulled him back.

"We know what you are," Tommy said taking the stand. Katrina and Jonas were stiff by his side almost like soldiers. Again they looked at me, sending me the silent message that I really shouldn't be a part of this conversation. I folded my arms stubbornly. They weren't getting rid of me that easily.

"You have no right to be in this town," Katrina said. Bridget raised an eyebrow.

"Last I checked this is a free country," she said wittily.

"Yes, but its not a free _territory_," Katrina retorted, her words laced with a hidden meaning. I looked from one group to the other, not really belonging to either. What exactly was going on? I intended to find out. Bridget, Michael, and Anthony looked more amused than anything, when the "Freak Seats" looked just about as annoyed as I felt.

"What's your last name?" Tommy asked.

"Gideon," they all answered at once. The tension rebuilt from that point. I looked from one side to the other. They stood in silence.

"I'm sure my father would love to meet yours," Jonas said.

_He speaks!_ I thought bitterly.

"Don't worry. We'll find you," Michael said. He turned to me. "Layla, would you like to join us at our table?" Tommy, Katrina, and Jonas looked as surprised to hear this as I was. The only time I was invited to a table was by my own blood relatives. This could have been a social stepping stone if I gave a flying crap about my appearances. These kids had made it blatantly obvious in front of the whole school that they were even too cool for the "Popular Table." But I was forever thankful I didn't care what anyone thought. These kids were bad news.

"No thanks. I have some reading to do," I said. This time_ I_ had surprised _them_. Jonas smiled genuinely at my turning them down. Apparently they had thought I would jump at any opportunity to hang out with the "cool new kids." They didn't know me very well. Phoebe or Paulette may have jumped at the chance, but I wasn't my sisters.

On that rare moment where I came off as too good for the cool kids, I had to play it off. I walked off back to my reading spot by the Art building with a bit of an extra swagger in my step. It was only when I heard Michael's parting words that I faltered.

"Feisty little thing, isn't she?"

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	12. Her Temper

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way!

* * *

**Layla:**

Feisty little thing? Who says that? Feisty little thing? I kept on replaying the scenario in my head. It was all I could do to not look back at Michael and give him a look of disgust, but alas my bravado was fading. The intimidation was enough for me, however, I had the whole school watching and talking about me a whole fifteen minutes.

I still couldn't get that out of my head.

Feisty little thing. No one's ever called me that my entire life. I turned around seeing the Gideons leave Tommy, Katrina, and Jonas behind. All of them talking amongst themselves. I felt another small puff of anger as they walked away from one another. Mostly towards Jonas, he hadn't even said hello to me. They were _all_ jerks as far as I was concerned.

I decided to sit down and get started on my "_Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_" book.

"Hell-O?" snapped a familiar voice. I looked up making sure to put on an annoyed look. Paulette looked down at me as I was sitting on the concrete ground against the building. Phoebe stood beside her.

"What was that about? Wasn't that your ex-boyfriend?" Phoebe asked.

"I have no idea and he's not my ex-boyfriend," I corrected. Paulette sighed impatiently.

"We always find out the secrets of this school," Paulette said kneeling down to my eye level. She smiled prettily. "You might as well just tell us." I was in no mood for their stupid gossip. So I did what any sister would do. I lied, just to mess with their heads.

"They're families are Mafia. The new kids trespassed on the 'Freak Seats' territory," I said sarcastically.

"Really?" Phoebe gasped. Paulette was not so easily fooled.

"Fine, be that way," she said.

* * *

**Jonas:**

Feisty little thing. Yes, her temper had been out of the ordinary. She seemed upset that he'd nearly hit her with his car. And trust me, it took a lot for a human to stand in the presence of six werewolves, whether they knew what they were or not. We're big, temporal people who had let her know she was unwelcome and she still stayed. That was more than feisty, that was downright ballsy.

Then she declined an offer like that. Michael's face was priceless. I'd never been so proud of anyone. She'd sided with _me_. But of course the whole encounter had provoked my inner beast

"_I have never been so frustrated. GET him. He'd tried to hurt her_," my subconscious urged. "_Go to her! She's upset! She was right THERE and you have the nerve to walk around her_!" I breathed in and out. It had been impossible in the beginning, but I was starting to learn to resist my inner monster's requests. So much that even though I had been mere inches, no more than a foot away from her, I could still suppress the urge to scoop her up and beg her to ditch school so we could have another wonderful day. Just **one** day.

But no, I was a danger to her and everyone around her. That moment I had been a danger to Michael and he had provoked me talking to Layla like that, trespassing on my pack's territory and I still hadn't attacked him. That werewolf was lucky he still had limbs by the time he walked away.

"Wow," Tommy muttered. Katrina agreed.

"Yeah. I'll admit I thought that was a bad idea bringing you that close to her, but you didn't even attack him when he provoked you," she said surprised.

"_You should have_!" my inner beast roared. Tommy looked at Katrina then back at me again.

"Was it hard?" he asked me.

"No, it was just a matter of concentration," I said going back to our table. To be honest it was the hardest thing I'd ever had to do. But I wasn't about to let them know that I still had trouble getting a handle on my self control. I had advanced toward him in a challenge when he said Layla had stepped in front of his car and Tommy had gently pulled me back, but at least I didn't throw myself at him. Katrina shook her head.

"This lone wolf thing. I think you're really getting it down. I mean you haven't had any black outs recently or anything," she said. I shrugged as though it were no big deal. Part of my plan for losing all the babysitters was to learn self control and I had studied it hard, once I had pretended self control long enough they were sure to be more linient with my restriction. The regular runs and a few meditations had soothed my wild side.

However, it was still there. And that scared me.

"What are we going to tell my dad about the new pack?" I asked Tommy changing the subject. As much as it bothered me, Tommy was going to be Alpha. He was smart and resourceful, even if he didn't have a bloodline. Our table had shrunk significantly in the past year. It was just the three of us now, the others graduated at the end of summer.

"I guess a pack has trespassed. We'll have to tell him, though it might start a war," Tommy said glaring in the direction of the Gideons. He looked to Katrina. "I've never heard of the Gideons." She shrugged.

"Neither have I," she said.

"What do they want with Layla?" I blurted. Damn, I'd been doing so well I hadn't the restraint to resist the question. Tommy and Katrina exchanged glances.

"You think they want something to do with the human?" Katrina asked. I shrugged.

"He paid too much attention to her. Was I the only one that noticed?" I asked. Tommy looked thoughtful for a moment.

"No, he was just using her as a shield so we couldn't talk using werewolf terms. He was just being obnoxious," Tommy deducted.

"_He nearly hit her with a car_!" the beast within me argued.

"_It was an accident_," I said internally.

"_He had invited her back to his pack!_" it said outraged. That part was a little strange. Still it wasn't enough to prove they wanted something to do with her.

"_There's nothing to worry about_," I said calmly.

The bell rang too sharply for my sensitive ears. I winced and the thousands of bodies started to move.

"We'll talk to your dad after school," Tommy said. He left the other direction and Katrina followed me to my next class as it was her's too. We passed by Layla's reading spot. This time I caught her looking at me. She quickly went back to putting her things away for her next class. I looked away as well. Her scent had been so strong with her being so close. It was going to take a lot to tear my mind from it.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	13. Her Gift

I do not own Blood and Chocolate.

* * *

**Layla: **

It was raining again. I have mixed feelings about the rain. In my room I have a bay window, when we bought our house I was a freshman and I had fantasies about reading in the window as it was raining, but I never read on it. It was too distracting. I just stared at the street curled up with my chin on my knees. The phone rang once faintly in every room, but mine. I opted to not have a phone up here since no one called me.

"LAYLA!" That scream would be Paulette from downstairs. For some reason she felt the need to scream like a banshee every time the phone was for someone else. "PHONE!" I moaned grumpily. Someone probably needed tutoring or hopefully someone calling about my college scholarships. I stood up and stuck my head out the doorway.

"Who is it?" I asked. Paulette walked up the stairs phone to her ear.

"May I ask who's calling?... Michael!" My eyes widened. Michael? The blonde jerk Michael? How did he get my number? Where I was concerned, Paulette looked absolutely pleased. Phoebe heard the commotion and stood in her own bedroom doorway. "It's so nice to hear from you. I heard my sister was a real bitch to you at lunch."

I guess it wouldn't take long for my sisters to find out about our little chat today. I narrowed my eyes at her which went unnoticed.

"Yeah, don't mind her. She's sensitive," Paulette said waving her hand dismissing me.

"Oh! Give me the phone!" Phoebe said jumping up and down.

"It's not for you," I said to her. Phoebe shrugged.

"So?"

"Uh huh," Paulette said hand on her hip as she paced. She smiled wide and started to jump up and down silently. "I'm sure she will." Uh oh, this couldn't be about me. No one even knew who I was.

"She'll what?" I asked Paulette. Paulette raised her finger in a 'one second' gesture.

"Yeah! Hold on," Paulette said. She covered the speaking end of the phone. "Michael wants to know if you want to go with him and those two others hang out at the mall."

"No way!" I said.

"Are you insane? I'll go," Phoebe volunteered raising her hand in the air and giving a little enthusiastic jump.

"He didn't ask for you, he asked for Layla," Paulette said. I rolled my eyes.

"How about you dye your hair and borrow my glasses and go as me then?" I asked sarcastically. Phoebe perked as though I'd said something brilliant.

"Do you think that'd work? We are identical," Phoebe said.

"Its a joke!" I said. Paulette rolled her eyes.

"Yes or no, Lay?" she asked impatiently.

"I just said no. It's raining. I don't like him. I hate the mall. I see no reason to go," I said bluntly. Paulette gave me a scolding look. Then she scoffed.

"You, my sister, are going to die a virgin," Paulette said covering the phone with her hand. I re-entered my bedroom at that point and slammed my door. I heard Paulette chattering a little longer in the hallway until politely hanging up. I went back to my bay window and looked outside. There was a lumpy red and white spot on the wet ground. I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose and leaned forward for a better view.

There was a gutted dead rabbit on my lawn.

* * *

**Jonas:**

This was stupid. Tommy, Katrina, and I sat on the porch of our mansion in sweaters and sweat pants. My father had instructed us to wait in the front porch for the new werewolves in town. He was on his way home from the city and the other betas were also on their way.

A wonderful, beautiful, fantastic black Italian convertible with the drove up with the top up.

"What's she doing here?" Tommy muttered. Aunt Marille stepped out and slammed her door behind her. She had a small McDonald's bag in hand along with a small kid's sized drink. We watched her walk past us.

"Hello Jonas and friends," she said sweetly. "And your father asked me to be here," she answered Tommy's question her sensitive hearing had apparently picked up. She walked up to me and ruffled my hair. I flinched and backed away.

Here's the deal with my aunt. She was the one who suggested to my dad that I needed twenty-four hour surveillance. She was the reason I was the third wheel on every single one of Tommy and Katrina's dates. She was the reason I couldn't even talk to Layla at school. She and I hadn't been on good terms since that day one year ago. Even if she meant well, she still ruined my life.

"Why does he want _you _here? It's not like you're a part of this pack," I said.

"Jonas, you're so bitter," she said. I felt the urge to snarl at her. My inner beast and I both had a mutual dislike for her. "I'm a psychologist and animal behaviorist, soon to be psychiatrist, did I tell you I signed up for med school? Anyway, I have experience with liars and hidden motives." She opened the door and waited inside.

Aunt Marille opened the door again and poked her head out.

"What were their names again?" she asked.

"Gideon," all three of answered at once. Almost every beta who passed by us had asked us. But Aunt Marille's brow furrowed as she sipped her drink thoughtfully, then went inside the house.

I sighed.

"Geez, she's a junk food addict," Katrina said as soon as Aunt Marille was inside out of earshot.

"Not like it matters to werewolves. We need those extra calories," Tommy said.

"Yeah, but is it just me or does she always have a McDonald's bag in her hand?" she asked. I thought about it.

"I guess so," I said. My father was the next car to pull up to the house. He parked in the garage and came walking out. He stepped up the steps of the house with his secretary, Jillian, also a beta of the Carter pack close on his heels with a blackberry in hand.

"They're not here, yet?" he asked.

"No, sir," Tommy said respectfully. He sighed.

"It's rude to show up on one's territory uninvited and then be late introducing themselves," he said clenching his jaw.

"In all fairness, they didn't give us an exact time, sir," Katrina said.

"It's almost dark. Doesn't make them any less annoying," my father muttered. I smiled, surprising myself that our mutual dislike of these people was a similarity between me and my father I didn't mind. He stepped through the screen door.

A few more moments passed. The rain pattered lightly on the roof. Tommy and Katrina were huddled together on the porch swing rocking gently, the supporting chains squeaking in rhythm as they swung back and forth. I leaned against the post trying not to stare jealously. The rain, their closeness. It was a little too familiar.

Finally an unfamiliar car pulled down the dusty road that led up to our manor. Tommy and Katrina immediately sat up straight. I felt my instincts kick in as I knew who was inside that white Mercedes Benz that rolled around. What was strange though was that it was just one car. It was just an entire pack, it was just a few people in a four door. There were twenty people in the Carter pack, not counting Aunt Marille. There were only about four people in the car.

"Odd," Katrina agreed with me as if reading my thoughts. The four people were predictable for the most part. Three of them were the ones we'd been introduced to at lunch, Michael, Bridget, and Anthony. The other one was a middle aged man no older than my own father. He had natural black curly hair and tan skin. He glanced at us showing striking light green eyes.

I almost shivered. He looked vampiric.

But that's stupid, there's no such thing as vampire and he smelled of pure werewolf. He stepped up the porch smiling politely at us. Michael and I met gazes. His smile was exaggerated. I opted for not smiling at all.

"Sir, they're here," Tommy called from the doorway and held the door open for them. Various beta members went to the our living room where we were meeting. My father stood up and shook hands with the man.

"Mark Carter, Alpha, Carter Pack," my father introduced.

"Victor Gideon," the man said. That was all he had to his introduction which was suspicious in itself. This guy didn't even have a pack, that or he was refusing that information to us. Betas stiffened uncomfortable with the situation. Then Aunt Marille came out of the kitchen brushing the salt from her french fries off her hands.

She nearly choked on her food she was swallowing.

"Vic?" she said. Victor smiled.

"Carter! I thought I smelled you," he said light heartedly. Aunt Marille and him laughed genuinely and gave one another a hug. There was a baffled silence as the two greeted one another.

"Marille?" my father interrupted in a low voice. Aunt Marille pulled out of the hug.

"Oh! Where are my manners? Mark, this is Dr. Gideon. Victor, this is my brother, Mark. Victor was my colleague when I was going to school in San Francisco. He helped me with my Lone Wolf research," she said. My father slowly nodded his understanding, more at ease that someone he knew was acquainted with the trespasser.

"Its a pleasure to meet you," my father said politely. I felt myself shrink into the crowd. Great. Even this group of werewolves from across the country knew I was a lone wolf. Was there any werewolf who didn't?

"Likewise, of course," he said and introduced Michael, Bridget, and Anthony.

"What brings you to our neck of the woods?" my father said as soon as everyone was settled. Victor gave a sigh and swallowed hard before starting.

"I am from the Lucas Pack in San Francisco, as are these pups. Our entire pack was wiped out by hunters," he said. An uneasy silence fell over the room.

"Hunters?" my father echoed.

"Yes," Victor said. "There is a small group of humans in California that has dedicated themselves to killing werewolves, vampires, and... I don't know. Whatever else supernatural they can find. One of our pack members, the one I suspected to be a Lone Wolf..." He directed a look to Aunt Marille. She nodded, obviously knowing what he was talking about.

I felt myself shrink back into the crowd a bit more.

"She slipped up when the one she was attracted to started to date someone. She killed a human and the hunters tracked us down from there," Victor said sadly. I was looking at the floor, not daring to look up at see the eyes I felt on me. A Lone Wolf had revealed their secret. I truly was a threat to my pack, my family.

"Our house was burned to the ground. We are the only survivors. I was the only one left to take care of these pups, so I brought them with me," he said. I looked up seeing matching looks of sorrow on all three of their faces. Even Michael. It didn't take a psychologist to see what he was saying was true. Tears had formed in Bridget's eyes, but refused to let them fall.

"I'm so sorry for your loss," my father said.

"Thank you. I hope you don't mind us moving into this territory. I knew Marille lived somewhere in this city, but I wasn't sure where. She had told me she had no pack," Victor said.

"I don't," Aunt Marille said.

"She's decided to stay within the area, but she's not technically part of the pack," my father explained. Victor nodded.

"Well, we welcome you all to town. If there's anything we can do for you, please, let us know," my father said. Victor smiled and shook his hand.

"Thank you," he said. We offered the Gideons to stay for dinner, but they politely declined though they agreed that it may be a good idea to go for a run later. With that the meeting was done. There were still some things that bothered me about them though. Tommy and Katrina still didn't feel right about them either, but my father said we had to play nice with them at school.

"_Perhaps, as long as they leave her alone_," my inner monster told me.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	14. Her Stalking

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters though.

* * *

**Layla:**

Another day at school. As usual, the minute we got to school my sisters set off in their own direction with their boyfriends. We were early today which wasn't great. The sun was shining which was even worse. My mood had been pretty down, especially since yesterday.

The rabbit that had been left of our porch was... odd. I made my dad go look at it and he said it was probably left by some coyote judging by the way it'd been killed. That in itself was weird. We knew there were a few coyotes here and there, but not so close to our house. Besides, what coyote in its right mind would drop its meal and run away?

But that was over and done with and even though the vegetarian in me was horrified to see another living creature massacred, I knew that nature had its predators. So I thought nothing of it.

Another day at school...

I sighed and sat down on the concrete ground in my reading area while I waited for school to start. I started to fumble through my bag in search of my latest book. That's when a shadow fell across me. I looked up seeing a tall thin person in my view.

"Layla, right?" said a voice. He sat down beside me. It was Anthony, Michael's friend. I rolled my eyes. "You missed a great trip to the mall yesterday."

"I'm sure," I said trying to keep the annoyed tone to a minimum and distracted myself by digging through my bag. Where was my book?

"Robert Louis Stevenson?" Anthony said. I perked as he was holding my small _"Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"_ book.

"Oh... Did I drop it?" I asked him.

"No, it was hanging out of your bag. I took it," he admitted. I eyed him suspiciously and tucked my book away.

"Oh, well I'll have to watch my wallet around you," I joked. He laughed politely and then became serious.

"Hey, I heard you tutored English," Anthony brought up casually.

"I do," I said dreading what I knew he was going to say.

"Michael and I need a little help in English. We're pretty far behind from where we lived before. We were home schooled," he said. I looked up at Anthony who looked nothing, but genuine. The bell rang for our first class. Anthony helped me gather my things and handed them to me.

"I... don't know," I said.

"What? Is it Michael?" Anthony asked walking me toward my first class.

"Um, yes," I said. There was no use in beating around the bush. Anthony's brow furrowed.

"Look, he wanted to apologize to you yesterday about the whole car thing, but you didn't want to sit with us at lunch or talk to him on the phone," he said innocently. I looked at the ground. How could I tell him that he and his friends just sort of creep me out?

"I charge for my tutoring services," I said hoping the money would scare him off.

"That's great, we pay for ours," Anthony said matter of factly. I wondered if he could see my hesitance as I tried to smile.

"Um, its a hundred dollars a session. That will be two hundred for the both of you," I said. Anthony didn't even falter.

"Great. So we'll see you at lunch?" he asked.

"No," I said still hoping my restrictions would make him leave. "The only tutoring I do is at my own house. With my sisters home and everything." This made him hesitate. I couldn't hide my triumphant smile so I looked at my own feet as I walked. Thank God _someone_ wasn't all over my sisters. In fact these new kids seemed repelled by them. He hesitated.

"Uh... That shouldn't be a problem," Anthony said awkwardly. "But I'll have to talk to Michael."

Victory!

"Okay, then," I said stopping in front of my class. "See ya." I opened the door stepping inside. Everyone was already in their seats as I had barely missed the tardy bell. It was then I saw my seat, the only open one in the classroom right beside Michael. He wiggled his fingers at me in greeting. I couldn't help, but stare. Was I being stalked?

"Miss Reigh, please have a seat," the teacher said. I nodded dumbly and hesitantly sat beside Michael. All of the girls around him were whispering and waggling their eyebrows at one another, nodding to him. He was an attractive guy, I'll give him that. But that didn't excuse the fact that he was scary as hell. He was something to be admired from afar like beautiful predator.

And yet I couldn't seem to shake him.

* * *

**Jonas: **

My family was careful to make sure that I didn't get any classes with Layla, however there was one class that was a small exception. I did have a class with her sister, Phoebe. She was blonde and stunning. It was strange to look at her head on because she had Layla's face, minus the glasses and the hair color. It was the closest I got to Layla most days.

"Ugh... It was so gross," she went on as the teacher started to doodle an example on the blackboard. I looked to my left. Katrina was leaning her head on her hand, eyes half open and slowly closing. "It was right on our porch."

"A dead rabbit?"

"_A what_?" my inner beast inquired. Suddenly I understood. A dead animal. I listened for more.

"That's sick! Who did it? Some psycho kid?" her friend asked.

"No, my dad said it was probably some sort of animal. Like a coyote or something. It was all torn and...ew..." Phoebe said shivering dramatically.

"_Someone else laid their kill at her feet_," the inner beast said. Suddenly everyone was looking at me. Katrina opened her eyes and looked my way.

"Jonas!" she hissed in a whisper. I caught myself growling. No wonder everyone was looking at me. I immediately stopped.

"_Kill him_," the beast said. I gripped the edge of my desk. The wood creaked as I tightened my fist around it. The beast was challenging me for control of my body again. No, I couldn't do anything rash. Not like that Lone Wolf in San Francisco who got her entire pack killed. Not me. No way. I had restraint.

"_No_," I told it.

"_He went to her dwelling and laid his kill! He is competition, kill him_!" the monster raged.

"_NO!_" I thought as loudly as I could. The wood crackled in my hand, a clean break from the desk. Now even the teacher had heard that loud crack. Katrina jerked completely awake now. She reached across my desk and grabbed my arm.

"Is there something wrong, Mr. Carter?" the teacher said.

"Um..." I thought of how to respond. There was really nothing I could have said. "My desk broke."

"He cut his hand on a splinter. Can I walk him to the office? He's bleeding pretty bad," Katrina said quickly. I hadn't, but I knew what this meant. I was in trouble with my babysitter. The teacher excused us giving us passes as I covered my hand with the end of my sweater's sleeve, pretending to be covering my nonexistent wound.

We stepped outside the class and Katrina immediately started to text Tommy who had Algebra in one of the nearby building. I leaned against the wall looking at my hand. I had almost lost control. I leaned my head back and cursed myself.

"What exactly happened. Jonas?" Katrina said after pressing the send button on her phone.

"Did you hear her?" I asked.

"Who?"

"Layla's sister," I said. Katrina's brow furrowed. We both saw Tommy bolt from a classroom in a nearby building. He jogged toward us and stopped.

"What? What happened?" Tommy asked.

"Layla's sister said some animal had put a dead rabbit on Layla's doorstep," I said. Tommy raised his brows. He looked at Katrina.

"Someone laid their kill?" he asked.

"Yes!" I said thankful that someone had come to the same conclusion as me.

"He broke off a piece of his desk in class. Jonas, you're lucky this school has shotty equipment otherwise they would know you're a little bit stronger than most humans," Katrina said. I rolled my eyes at her scolding.

"I'm sorry, mother," I said sarcastically shooting her a glance.

"Wait, back up. Who left her a kill on her doorstep?" Tommy said. Finally! Someone was talking sense!

"Good question," I said. Then I thought for a moment. I did have blackouts when my other consciousness took over. But that hadn't happened for about six months. Tommy and Katrina kept a watchful eye on me, but there could be a chance I'd snuck away. "I didn't... run off yesterday, right?"

"It couldn't have been you. You were with us the whole day," Katrina said. I breathed a breath of relief. My self control was still in check.

"Could it have been another Lone Wolf?" Tommy asked. That question made my eyes narrow. Another Lone Wolf putting Layla and my pack in danger? I felt myself growl again. "Jonas, calm down." I stopped. My self restraint was really being tested today.

"What about the Gideons?" I asked.

"We already told you. He's a werewolf. Most werewolves have no interest in humans," Katrina said.

"They were late to the meeting," I pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything," Tommy said. I sighed. A silence fell over all three of us. They both gave me those pitiful faces and looked at one another. "You going to be okay?" I nodded slowly. "You sure?"

"I'm fine," I assured him. Tommy nodded.

"Good," he said. He looked to Katrina and gave her a kiss goodbye. Then he turned back toward his classroom. I watched Katrina as she watched him walk away with the smallest smile on his face. She seemed to have sensed I was looking at her.

She smiled at me, but it was more forceful.

"Come on. I have some gauze in my locker. Let's go fake a bandage," she said. I followed her silently. My thoughts were lost searching for an answer. Who might do that to Layla? I knew I would if I ever lost control of my inner beast. I'd had blacked out and woken up in her backyard before. But if it wasn't me, who could it have been? If there was another Lone Wolf in the area I might not be able to control myself.

"Jonas?" Katrina said. I looked at her. "You know Tommy and I care for you a lot. I mean, how could we not after being stuck together this entire year. You're like our brother." She had that gentle female tone that was rare of her. I forced a grin.

"I know," I said.

"We don't want anything bad to happen to you. You have to let us know if you're losing control," she said.

"I know," I repeated. Her eyes lightened a tad.

"None of us like the new werewolves no matter what your dad says about them. We're on your side, they shouldn't have messed with Layla. Maybe if we tell them about your... issue... they'll lay off," she suggested. I appreciated that. I knew they meant well.

"No. Please don't. A Lone Wolf was the reason their last pack was destroyed. They don't need to know that I'm one too. Besides, you're right. Why should they care about Layla? They'll leave her alone once they get bored with her," I said. Katrina nudged me playfully.

"Exactly! Jonas, I'm starting to question if you even are a Lone Wolf. You don't seem that..." she stopped at the word I knew she was about to say.

"Crazy?" I suggested.

"Yeah," she said. If she could hear the voice in my head she'd be singing a different tune. She stopped at her locker and started to undo the lock.

"What if it is that Michael guy?" I asked her. Katrina's actions slowed as she started to unravel the gauze. She distracted her thoughts by taking my hand and making a make shift bandage.

"Don't worry," she said being sure to give no real answer. "Come on. Let's get back to class."

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	15. Her Chase

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters though.

* * *

**Layla:**

I tried to ignore him, I really did.

"Layla."

Just keep looking at the board. He'll stop eventually.

"Layla."

This was getting really old, really fast.

"Layla."

"What?" I said unable to hide the irritation in my voice and turning to face him. Michael had a note in his hand. I felt my brow furrow. He folded it and tossed it over to me. What was this? Junior high? I took the note and opened it.

**Tutoring?** was all it said.

I took my pen out of my backpack.

**It will cost you. A lot.** I wrote back, my handwriting significantly better than his if I do say so myself. I refolded it and tossed it over to him. Michael read it and scribbled something else down before sending it back to me.

**That's fine,** it read. I added the line I knew would be the deal breaker.

**And my sisters will be there.** When Michael read that I saw him frown. That made me smile. Who knew popular sisters could be so repelling? He thought a moment, chewing lightly on the end of his pen. Then finally he started writing a reply.

The note landed on my desk again. I opened it.

**Cool. See you tonight.** I didn't try to hide my groan. Oh well. At least I was getting two hundred dollars out of this. Classes came and went. Nothing else interesting happened during school, unless you count the fact that, of course, my sisters found out about what they called my "study date." Then when I told them that their presence was mandatory, they both frowned at me.

"We can't," they chorused. My eyes widened. They were going to pass up hanging out with the mysterious cool kids?

"Why not?" I asked them.

"The baseball game's tonight. We're meeting with Emily to discuss the happenings of Jefferson High. BUT, we will get all the info out of you in the morning. Don't forget," Paulette said. I groaned.

"I thought you didn't like Emily," I said hopefully.

"No, that's Lizzy. She's going out with Charlie now. That slut," Phoebe said frowning. I gave her a look.

"Don't look so disappointed, you'll have another boyfriend by the end of the week," I said to her. With Phoebe that was no exaggeration. Paulette nudged me playfully with her elbow.

"Looks like you will too, eh?" she said winking suggestively.

God, I hoped not.

So now I was home alone. My mother called and told me she was going to be home late, of course. And my dad? I was hoping he would see that I was going to be home alone with two boys and forbid them from staying passed a certain time. But he'd left work early, not mentioning any worries about boys. Funny. He'd always remembered to tell Phoebe and Paulette that their boys weren't allowed to be in the house after eight.

I guess I was different. I was the "responsible" one.

Before they came over I went over what Michael and Anthony told me they were learning. Explanatory essays. I tried to think of a way I could cram all the information in an hour to no prevail. This was going to take a while. I even wondered if I turned off all the lights in my house and pretended no one was home they would go away. But I couldn't do that, that was just plain rude.

The doorbell rang. I sighed heavily and pushed my chair back to answer the door. I felt my stomach churn a little bit out of nervousness. I opened the door where the grinning boys were.

"Hey Layla," Michael said, behind him I saw the car he'd nearly run me over with in my driveway.

"Hey. Come on in," I said stepping out of the way for the large, beautiful teenagers to walk inside. Both of them had their English books under their arms. I shut the door and led the way to the dining room.

"Nice place," Anthony said.

"Um... Thanks. Well, let's get started," I said sitting down. I'd gotten through the first two paragraphs when I could see Anthony was getting impatient. Michael noticed this and glanced at me. He was silently suggesting a break. I ignored him staring back down at the example essay. Breaks would take time, which meant this was only going to take longer.

"So, then you take the second part of your thesis statement and..."

"Do you have any popcorn?" Michael interrupted me randomly. I paused.

"No," I said slowly. Anthony stood up from his seat.

"Who doesn't have popcorn? I bet if I dig in the cupboards long enough I can find some," he said uninvitingly going into my kitchen and scrounging around. I was alone with Michael in the dining room. I tapped my pencil on my book impatiently.

"So..." Michael said his voice was sudden in the silence making my heart jump. I exhaled and silently cursed myself for being so jumpy. I wanted him to go away. This was not worth two hundred dollars. "You and Jonas." My interest was piqued.

"What?" I practically squeaked in surprise. Michael laughed.

"That Jonas guy. You have a thing for him?" he asked. I opened my mouth unable to find words. That was over a year ago. Even then it wasn't exactly a significant thing since it lasted only a day. I shook my head and laughed.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

He shrugged.

"I don't know. When we talked the other day you seemed kind of flustered to see him," Michael said.

"I found some! Where's your microwave?" Anthony called from the kitchen.

"By the fridge," I answered Anthony while staring dumbly at Michael still unable to believe that I was having this conversation with someone who was practically a perfect stranger. "I wasn't flustered. Just surprised. They're the weird kids, I didn't expect them to just walk up and start talking to us."

"It didn't seem that way," Michael said suspiciously.

"Well, it was," I said quickly.

"So there's no history between you?" he asked.

"None," I lied. His mouth twitched slightly as he studied my face with his intense blue eyes. I looked down at the text book again and pretended to read. I was infmaous for lying horribly. Anthony came back to the table with a bowl full of popcorn.

"What'd I miss?" he asked.

"Layla has a thing for Jonas," Michael said bluntly.

"Well, we all knew that," Anthony said.

"You don't know anything," I said in a low voice that was slightly more than a whisper.

"Oh, come on," Michael said elbowing me lightly. "I think its cute. Besides he likes you too." I sighed and kept staring at my text book, knowing my face was turning a bright red.

"Can we please go back to tutoring?" I asked.

"We need a break," Anthony said. Michael agreed of course.

"Yeah, we're not all smart like you," Michael said. "By the way, where's your sisters? I thought they were supposed to be here."

"They ditched me," I muttered unhappily.

"I guess you could say they _left you to the wolves,_" Anthony punned. Michael doubled over laughing with Anthony. I had no idea why that was so funny, so I cleared my throat uncomfortably.

"Anyway..." I started.

"Layla, you really shouldn't spend lunch alone reading like you do. Why don't you come sit with us tomorrow?" he asked. I sighed and looked up at him trying not to look as annoyed as I felt.

"Because I don't want to," I said.

"Why not?" he asked.

"I happen to like reading," I said.

"And being stared at by Jonas?" Michael asked cocking a brow. Another blush threatened to rise to my face.

"I will sit with you tomorrow, if we can just get on with this tutoring session," I said, my intimidation of them was staring to wear with irritation.

Michael and Anthony exchanged a glance. Michael shrugged.

"Deal," he said extending a hand to be shaken. I shook it.

"Now, the third paragraph..." I said taking the text book and holding it up on the table.

* * *

The next day I'd pretended to be sick, but my lying had not miraculously improved overnight. My mother just kissed me on the cheek before leaving the house and raced off to a business meeting in Arizona. My father was dozing in his chair having just come home from work, but he was still coherent enough to know that my mother had said no to me staying home.

Seeing that there was no getting out of school, I reluctantly climbed into my Chris's car, suffered the awkward silence between Charlie and Phoebe, and was dropped off at school without so much as a, "Get out of my car." My sisters had naturally demanded to know what happened last night, but I said nothing because nothing had happened.

I tried to tutor them and they ended up eating all of our popcorn. The End.

However they did give me my two hundred dollars at the end which I was putting toward my car. It was another gloomy day, one of several in a row, but it was more like fog than rain clouds. I walked into school and avoided everyone's eyes. I dressed plainer than usual hoping I would just disappear into the crowd. I didn't want to blend so much as I didn't want to let Michael see me.

I thought about what I was going to do, what my sisters were going to think about me sitting at lunch with them. That was going to be one long, awkward lunch. I was dreading just being in their presence. Then a thought occurred to me. Why should I have to go? They couldn't hold me down and make me eat lunch with them, right? That's right! This is a free country.

So I opted for hiding from them the entire day. Maybe they would think I was absent and forget about my promise. Maybe I was giving myself too much credit and they had already forgotten.

My plan worked for a while. They completely missed me at brunch, but it was lunch they were expecting me for. At lunch I was surprised. The first person I saw at the tables were Jonas and his friends. They were at their usual "Freak Seats." I started to go to my reading area when I figured that was the first place the Gideons would look.

So I went someplace they would never find me. My next class.

The teacher didn't mind so I sat in Biology class in front of the Bunsen burner and continued to read with my ear buds in my ears. I looked up and checked the clock seeing that lunch was about one quarter over, then back down to "_Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde_." I wasn't in the mood for Classics, I realized. So I peeked up again and made sure I was the only one in the class. The science teacher was listening to something while staring at her computer screen. I was alone.

I pulled out my worn copy of "Blood and Chocolate" from my backpack and started to reread Vivian's sad adventure. A few more moments went by and I was lost in this werewolf pack and the girl's struggle with her infatuation with a human. I smiled a little bit. This and my music was all I needed to distract myself.

Then as I read the last words on the page, one of my ear buds fell out of my ear and was replaced by someone's hot breath whispering, "You're going back on your word."

I screamed and fell off the stool to see Michael, Anthony, and Bridget standing over me laughing hysterically at my antics. Michael reached down and offered his hand. I hesitantly took it and pulled myself up. I took out my ear buds and quickly stuffed my book into my bag.

"Are you sure you don't have a history with Jonas?" Michael said suspiciously.

"Positive," I lied again.

"Why'd you flake on us?" Anthony asked.

"I already told you I didn't want to hang out with you," I said.

"Yeah, but you promised," Bridget said.

"Yeah, but I lied," I said getting braver probably because of the fact that there was a teacher in the room. Even if she wasn't paying attention to us. Michael gave me a look my father gave me when I was trying to get out of a family gathering or when I tried to bring one of my books to the dinner table.

"Well, we went through all the trouble of finding you..." Which was creepy in itself. "You might as well come back and sit with us," Anthony said.

"Though it was pretty fun tracking you," Bridget said. She looked back to the other two grinning giddily. "We should do this every lunch." What could I do? It was either that or they were going to keep bothering me, if they'd already gone this far. I packed my things up and slung my backpack over my shoulder.

"Fine, but just this once," I said. Michael shook his head.

"No. Lunch is halfway done. I think you owe us another lunch," Michael determined. My look must have been pathetic, because they all started laughing again. Michael walked up to me and slid his arm across my shoulders.

"Come on. It's not that bad," he said. They walked me back outside to the quad.

We walked across the grass heading toward the tables on the other side of the lunch area. I easily met gazes with Jonas. He was already looking my way. This time neither of us tried to look away. I felt weird with Michael's arm on me. Then when Jonas saw me, I felt myself give an almost apologetic look. He glanced back with brows furrowed. He nudged one of his friends, the boy, and nodded in my direction.

Now I looked away remembering how that particular boy felt about me. It seemed to take forever to reach the Gideon's table, like someone's walk to the gallows. Finally we all sat down and the three of them started talking amongst themselves, not even including me. There was an awkwardness about me being there. I fiddled with everything I had, my pencils, my cell phones, it didn't feel right to take out my book. But it was strange being there and being ignored. What was the point of practically taking me prisoner to hang out with them if they weren't even going to say anything to me?

"You know. I think I'll invite my sisters," I finally decided. It was my biggest defense. "I know they're dying to get to know you guys."

"They ditched lunch with a couple of guys," Bridget said. I sighed. They continued talking. I bit the inside of my cheek and stared at the asphalt making myself look as bored as possible so I could be excused. It seemed pretty easy to ignore me, though. My interest wasn't what they wanted. I was just an interest to them for whatever reason.

I looked at my cell phone. The minutes were crawling by with excruciating slowness. Slowly I drifted in and out of whatever they were talking about, usually having nothing to say.

"I don't see the big deal. I could take him easy," I heard Michael brag.

"Yeah, like Sarah?" Bridget laughed.

"Who's Sarah?" I blurted out the words before I could contemplate saying them out loud. The three of them stopped to look at me. I met each of their gazes.

"A friend of ours," Michael answered vaguely.

"Yeah, who kicked his ass," Anthony laughed. Bridget kicked his shin under the table causing him to jump and rub his shin. It felt normal enough. Maybe I was making a big deal out of nothing. I smiled playfully.

"You got beat up by a girl?" I teased lightly, talking just to pass the time. Michael's face softened a little bit as he gazed into mine. He smirked.

"Where I come from guys aren't afraid to hit girls, and girls aren't afraid to hit guys," he said. I thought for a moment. Was there a threat laced into those words? I promptly went back to watching the time go by on my cell phone. The bell should ring any second now.

_Ring. Come on, ring. It's one thirty! Ring, damn it!_

**RING!**

Thank you!

I left them all shamelessly jogging across the quad and not bothering to even look over my shoulder. I knew they were all smiling those weird cocky smiles. They'd scared me and if that was the point of this meeting then fine. Mission accomplished. Consider me scared. I just hoped I wouldn't have to suffer through that again.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	16. Her Cry for Help

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters though.

* * *

**Layla:**

My sisters decided to deliver the unhelpful news to be between fourth and fifth period, just one period before lunch. "We can't sit with you at lunch, Layla," Paulette tried to say delicately. She ignored the puppy dog eyes that were intensified by the lens in my glasses. She looked at Phoebe.

"Where exactly are you two going_ this_ lunch?" I said frustrated so my voice was getting louder. Phoebe and Paulette smiled simultaneously. Whatever it was, it was bad.

"We're driving to Chicago with Chris and Joseph," Phoebe said squealing and clapping excitedly. My eyes widened.

"You are aware that's three states away, aren't you?" I said more harshly than I'd meant.

"I told you she'd overreact," Phoebe said her enthusiasm failing as soon as she realized I wasn't going to jump and squeal with her. I exhaled. My sisters were abandoning me when I needed them most. I breathed, finding the words hard to find. Finally confusion settled in.

"Why?" I asked. And why weren't they taking me?

"A legitimate modeling agent finally accepted our modeling portfolios. She wants to see us in Chicago," Paulette said. I felt my jaw drop.

"_What?_" I cried. What were the odds? I had to wonder, were the Gideons behind this? But that sounded stupid. It was self righteous to think that. This was another stupid coincidence. Fate was officially against me, I finally determined.

"Don't worry, Joseph and Chris are going to be there to make sure its not some creep," Phoebe said trying to comfort me. A stray thought entered my mind.

"Wait. Who's Joseph?" I asked. Phoebe beamed.

"My new boyfriend," she perked. I was so stunned I couldn't do anything but stand there stupidly. People shoved past me in the hallway as we were in between classes. I was very close to crying upon sorting out this news in my head. Paulette's face softened.

"Oh my god, Lay, don't cry. Geez, you call us drama queens. Are you PMSing?" Paulette said. She and Phoebe rushed to my side, like good sisters. "Don't worry. We won't be longer than three days. You know Mom and Dad won't even miss us. Mom's out of town anyway."

"You're leaving me alone with those maniacs," I hissed. I looked angrily in the direction of the Gideon table, even though none of them were there. I couldn't believe I was actually close to tears, but not close enough for them to fall. Maybe I _was_ PMSing. But I did not want to be anywhere near the Gideons. I didn't feel right around them, and they didn't want me with them. It felt like it was some kind of game, them searching me out and passively dragging me back to their table.

"They're not maniacs because they want to hang out with you, Layla," Phoebe said brightly. "That makes them friendly. You're the crazy one." That remark upset me. I turned to glare at her.

"No, I'm not! Normal people don't pay two hundred dollars to be in your presence. Normal people don't just go up to loners and... socialize with them. Has the entire world gone insane?!" I said hysterically. I sighed frustrated. I was overreacting. I knew that. I took a deep breath as Phoebe hugged me from the side.

"You'll be fine. Until then, if Mom and Dad ask where we are..." Phoebe started.

"Which they won't," Paulette added.

"... Then we're at a football game," Phoebe finished. Could I just being paranoid? No, I got some seriously bad vibes from that trio. It was the same vibes you get when there's a creepy guy watching kids play at the park, or walking past a group of people in a bad neighborhood who were obviously up to no good. I had to find another way to get away from them, since my sisters weren't goint to be any help.

Suddenly, I thought of something. I knew what I was going to do this lunch. Inwardly I couldn't even believe I was considering it, but I didn't want to see them that much. It was going to be risky, but it would be better than being kidnapped again.

* * *

Lunch rolled around and this time I was ready, practically racing out of the classroom door outside. I felt a breath of air go through me as I saw my sisters and their boyfriends cross the quad. They walked quickly, boys trailing behind them like faithful puppy dogs as they headed toward the parking lot, hopefully before any of the supervisors went to guard the exit gates.

They weren't a part of my exit strategy today. I knew what I had to do. I pointed head up slightly higher than usual. I made a bee line for the forbidden zone, the restricted area, my last resort for help.

The "Freak Seats."

I walked toward them as they were settling at their table. As I neared, Jonas was the first to look up and see me. His friends quickly followed his gaze. All three of them froze as they saw I was heading straight for them. A moment passed between us that made me realize this might be a bad idea. I resisted the urge to look at my feet and slow my pace, for time was of the essence. If any of the Gideons saw me they would no doubt pressure me over to their side again to painfully sit through another lunch with them where I would be ignored and uncomfortable.

I had to remember, I did not care if Jonas and his friends didn't want me there. I did not care if they asked me to leave. I would stay there and beg them to just sit_ next_ to me. There didn't have to be any acknowledgement, any talking whatsoever. They just had to make me a part of their group for _one_ lunch.

Their stares were unrelenting. It took everything I had to try and ignore the hammer pounding that was my heart. I kept walking toward them. I was almost within speaking distance of them when Tommy leaned over and said something to them both. At once they all stood up and abandoned their table.

I was struck with panic. No, they couldn't leave me too! I picked up the pace to a sprint and ran directly in their path surprising all three of them, four if you counted me. I normally wasn't so straight forward.

"Wait!" I cried stepping right in front of them. Jonas looked panicked. He shot a look at Tommy who seemed at a loss for words. I held my hands up defensively in front of me to halt them. "Wait, I have a very small favor to ask you." The response was short and simple.

"The answer is no," Katrina said rudely, tilting her head slightly like any territorial female would. I couldn't give up now. The clock was ticking.

"Just listen to me," I said my voice was more pleading than I'd meant for it to sound. These large, beautiful, yet Goth/punk kids had a similarity to the Gideons' intimidation. I honestly couldn't believe I had this much courage in me. But there was something different about them. Maybe it was just the fact that Jonas was with them, and I felt no intimidation at all around him. I felt nothing but the memory of pressing up beside him in my PE clothes.

I swallowed that memory forcing myself to focus.

"I know you don't like me or you're not supposed to talk to me or whatever your deal is, but you have to help me. It's those new kids we talked to the other day," I said. They all perked suddenly interested. Tommy and Katrina exchanged concerned looks. Jonas's worried glance stared right into mine. At that moment, I seemed to suddenly realize what I was doing, going to them for help when I'd caused so much trouble a year ago. Maybe this had been a bad idea.

But then I was answered.

"The Gideons?" Tommy asked. I could breathe again now they weren't just staring.

"Yes. They've been on my back for the past couple of days and I'm starting to get a little freaked out, okay? I mean, it may not sound like they're doing anything. All they did was ask me to tutor them and force me to sit with them at lunch yesterday, but they creep me out. All I'm asking is that I can hang out near you. You know, maybe they'll leave me alone if they see I'm already with someone else," I said.

"What about your sisters?" Katrina asked.

"They just left for Chicago," I said. I heard something that sounded almost like a puppy whine as Jonas looked to Tommy with big eyes. Tommy stared hard at him. Jonas raised his eyebrows, insinuating something as he mumbled under his breath. Tommy shook his head quickly.

Katrina added something to the nearly silent conversation as the lunch area became more populated. Then she said something sharply that made Tommy sigh and shake his head defeatedly. Jonas smiled. I waited expectedly for their answer.

"Alright," Tommy said to me. My smile could not have been wider. My victory was harshly cut short as he took a step forward at me, like he was showing me he was in charge. He used the same intimidation that radiated from the Gideons to make me shrink back. He was standing so close I was fighting the urge to back peddle. I didn't though. My stand might have come off as brave, but the truth was I seemed to have lost the ability to move.

"Here's the deal. You sit with us. Eat. Read. Whatever. But if you say anything to us, we will ignore you," Tommy said. He looked back to the others. "Right?"

"Right," Katrina confirmed and nudged Jonas in the gut lightly.

"Right," Jonas's affirmative was delayed and awkward as he stared at me, making me feel like I did whenever I caught him staring.

"Thank you. That's all I ask," I said to Tommy directly, maintaining my respect for his leadership over this... social group, I guess you could call it. They turned around and I tailed them as we headed toward the "Freak Seats." They all sat on the end of the table and I sat on the opposite side unloading my books, my music, and my food. The truceful silence was reassuring though I was still nervoud.

As I knew they would, the Gideons came out into the lunch area. Bridget upset since she'd spotted me almost immediately and realized there was going to be no chase today.

I smiled behind the safety of my book. They weren't going to get me this time. I picked up my book and continued to read as they made their way. Jonas, Katrina, and Thomas looked extremely alarmed that they were coming. Tommy whispered something to Jonas. Jonas gave a hesitant nod.

"Layla," Tommy said. It sounded so faint I thought they were just talking about me, rather than to me. "Layla!" Tommy hissed. I peeked over my book again. The Gideons had completed their journey. Everyone was looking at me. That was a new feeling. I'd spent my whole life being invisible, I never quite felt like a spectacle until I was up in front of the class giving a speech or something.

"Yes?" I asked them.

"I thought we agreed that you owe us another lunch," Michael said glaring right through me.

"I never agreed to that," I said carefully. I supposed I was trying not to upset them.

Michael gave a false smile and nodded at me.

"Come on," he said urging me to follow. I sank down in my bench and put my book down.

"Listen, I just don't..." I started. Suddenly Jonas rose from his seat.

"Alright. You three need to knock it off," Jonas demanded raising his growling voice above normal. Bridget and Anthony heeded the warning, looking as though they were about to retreat. Not Michael though. He stood completely still like a statue. Tommy and Katrina were right by his side, instantaneously.

"Layla, put your headphones on," Jonas spoke to me in the first time in what felt like a century. That alone was surprising. He glared at me more intensely as I stared in shock. "Put them on," he commanded. Now that he was more demanding than suggesting, I was annoyed. But there was no chance that I was leaving with the Gideons.

I put in the ear buds in my ears. Jonas turned and all of them seemed to start talking at once. I could only hear my music and wish I could read lips.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	17. Her Rooftop

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters though.

* * *

**Jonas:**

Layla was in my life again, and I had nothing to do with it. She just walked up to us one day and begged us to let her sit at our table. It was... strange. Not even my inner beast knew what to think about it. All I knew was the minute she was asking our permission to sit at our table I felt my heart speed up and if I'd had a tail at the time I would have been wagging it wildly.

The strange part was that my wild side had been perfectly silent and content with her sitting there. It seemed at ease that she was within my view and I could make sure there was no danger after her. However, it was concerned once Michael and the other two were making their way toward us.

"_He is coming for her_," the beast acknowledged, forcing my hands into fists without my control. I allowed them to clench, but never leave my side. Michael was testing my restraint. He'd singled out Layla on purpose, I was sure of that now that she herself seemed desperate for help without any knowledge of our world.

He spoke to her, but I couldn't quite make out what he was saying. All I saw was Layla looking worried and uncomfortable, the way I always envisioned her looking at me if I'd been allowed to follow her and keep her in my life as much as I wanted.

My restraint was slipping. My inner beast no longer communicating in decipherable thoughts. All I felt was rage and protection. This was different than my urge to stalk and be near her to always make sure she was safe, she had _asked_ for my protection.

That was about the time I asked Layla to put on her headphones. We all waited for the music to start playing. Layla had look of frustration as she looked away from us, like she didn't like being told what to do. I didn't mind that look. I had to protect my pack's secret as well as her.

"What do you want exactly with the human?" I asked, barely remembering to make sure none of the other humans without headphones couldn't hear us. Tommy and Katrina were by my side, but I knew they weren't supporting me. They only wanted to make sure I didn't lose control, which was entirely a possibility with Michael directly in front of me.

"Perhaps our pack likes to make friends with humans. They can be quite amusing," Michael said.

"Bull," I spat.

"Layla's not special. You really should leave her alone. You're creeping her out which is making her suspicious. You know what your punishment will be if you reveal what we are to a human," Tommy said using his Alpha voice that even I had to admit was getting much better.

"I'll be killed. And if Layla is smart enough to find it out, she'll be killed too for knowing too much," Michael said in a voice that was simple as stating a fact. My inner beast was clawing at the walls, roaring with rage. I was impressed with myself that I hadn't attacked him already. Katrina looked at me with the eyes that a only a sympathizing female seemed to have behind her dark black eye liner and pink eye shadow.

"That's enough," Tommy demanded coolly.

"Oh really?" Michael mocked.

"It is. You want my attention, you have it," I said. Eyebrows went up. Bridget smirked.

"Now... Why would Layla attract your attention? Why should our meddling in her life effect any of you?" Michael asked, clearly knowing the answer. My fists clenched tighter. I had to look back at Layla. She was listening to her music and pretending to read. Her face was concerned, but not knowing.

"You know what Jonas is," Tommy finally concluded.

"Yes," all three of the Gideons confirmed.

"Then you know better than to aggravate him," Katrina said.

"We would never do a thing like that without a purpose," Bridget said with a perfect mask of faux innocence, like a villain.

"Then what exactly would be your purpose? I'm sure Dr. Gideon told you all about Lone Wolves. You should no better than to mess with the one they're attracted to," I said dangerously, hoping to get my silent threat across before I had to act on my wild impulse to rip each and every one of their throats out.

"And if we refuse?" Anthony asked. My breath was ragged. Katrina moved like she was going to place her hand on me to calm me down. I shot her a glance, she immediately pulled back. Tommy stood in between me and her.

"Take Layla," he said quietly to me. To the Gideons even with their sensitive hearing it must have been nothing more than a murmur. I was surprised to hear the suggestion. I glanced back at Tommy. That was against my father's orders, even I knew that. Technically speaking, we shouldn't have even let her at our table. Granting me time alone with her was even worse.

I supposed saving me from losing control might have been a better option. If I could just leave and take Layla with me I could calm down. I will admit it wasn't an order I even wanted to disobey.

I moved, Michael watched me carefully, eyes widening. He started to follow me as I made my way to Layla's end of the table.

"We won't leave her alone," Michael said.

"Why?" Katrina demanded to know as she stepped in his path.

"That is confidential," Bridget retorted taking Michael's place in front of her in a female to female stand off. Michael moved around her making her way towards me. Suddenly he had his face in mine. I could see Tommy and Katrina watching me with matching concerned faces. They were worried I was going to lose control, Change right in front of everyone on the lunch area, and kill Michael.

I was worried for the same thing. The inner monster, the wolf of my werewolf that was inside my mind was raging at a deafening roar. I couldn't even hear my own heartbeat that I could feel pounding against my rib cage. I couldn't remind myself about the Lone Wolf from San Francisco who'd gotten her entire pack killed, because my own thoughts were muffled.

I may have lost control if Tommy hadn't pounced Michael from behind. Shock shattered the beast's rage and reminded me where I was. Their muffled grunts caught the attention of Layla and most everyone else at school. I could think now that Michael was being taken care of.

Layla.

Tommy had wanted me to take Layla. Katrina hurriedly attacked Bridget, grabbing Anthony and pulling him into the pile of swarming bodies grabbing and punching fists. One thing was for sure. We were all going to be in trouble when we got home.

* * *

**Layla:**

Talk about Deja vu. The one day I make contact with Jonas again, another huge, epic school yard fight breaks out. I was sitting there watching the conversation with my ear buds in my ears. My mind was burning with questions as I hid my spying on them behind my book. What were they talking about? Why wasn't I allowed to hear?

It must have been about me. They kept looking at me, nodding in my direction as they spoke. I should have been brave enough the lower the volume of my music so I could eavesdrop. I wished I could have thought of just tugging out one of my ear buds by the cord, they were always falling out anyway it wouldn't take much effort.

But this felt bigger than myself. Like I shouldn't be a part of it, for my own good. So instead I opted on watching lips move and even then I was only able to make out my own name. Then things started to feel heated. I felt the familiar rush that I'd felt before that fight last year. Michael was saying something he shouldn't have been saying to an easily tempered Jonas.

I grew concerned watching his muscles tighten, the vein in his temple pop. Then Tommy had decided to attack Michael instead. Katrina followed taking out Bridget and almost Anthony too, but he managed to slip away. Jonas turned and held out his hand. My heart stopped, memories flashed of him offering me his hand to run from the supervisor who had caught us ditching. I pulled out my ear bud.

"We need to go. Now," he said in a low gravelly voice.

"What?" I said confused.

The next part I do not exaggerate.

One second I was sitting down.

The next I was being picked up in Jonas's arms.

And the next the wind was rippling in my hair, catching my breath before I could think of gasping. The scenery around us was nothing but a hazy blur.

Lastly, I was in the air and standing on top of the roof dazed. And in all of this somehow I managed to never drop the book in my hand. My eyes were wide and I was woozily wobbling catching myself on an air vent. My legs finally gave out.

Jonas was there to catch me. He held me still, pressed up against him as he covered my mouth with his hand.

"Stay still. Be quiet. They won't find us," Jonas whispered in my ear. I did was told. We were still, closer to one another than we had been in so long. Pressed up against one another. My mind was still replaying that one day. That moment it felt silly that I still thought about Jonas a lot. But I still wondered if he thought about me.

Finally he released me and pulled away. Jonas and I crept to the edge of the roof. Anthony was walking underneath the eaves we were looking down from, his nose to the air, but he was walking in circles.

It was almost as if he was trying to follow some sort of smell. From our hiding place I looked down the other end of the quad. Michael, Tommy, Bridget, and Katrina were a bruised mess, some with cut lips or bloody noses. The supervisor was giving them each a talking to ranting about how they were going to talk to their parents.

I couldn't believe I'd caused another mess. I shouldn't have been so selfish as to get Jonas involved. I should have just shut up and endured another lunch with the Gideons.

"I'm so sorry, Jonas," I said pressing my glasses up the bridge of my nose that were slipping as we looked over the edge.

* * *

**Jonas:**

_She_ was sorry. _She _was sorry that I had put her in danger, the last thing I had wanted to do? I'd gotten her stalked, scared, and now possible suspended if the supervisors found out she was involved. Anthony was circling the building following our scent as discretely as he could. I know Layla's was hard to miss, her strawberry smell followed her everywhere she went, but I had my scent too.

However, I knew from years of playing hide and seek with the other pups that the seeker rarely looked up when following the scent. It was risky, running like that with Layla and hopping up here on the roof with the skill only a werewolf possessed, but she didn't seem the least bit surprised about that. Perhaps she _did_ read too much.

"Layla, you don't have to be sorry," I said in a whisper. She looked around at the roof as if to check to make sure no one was sneaking up on us.

"Why are we whispering?" she asked.

Because werewolves have incredible hearing.

"It's just better if we do," I said. We looked over the end of the roof again. Tommy, Katrina, Michael, and Bridget were being escorted to the office.

"We are in so much trouble," I said thinking of what my father was going to say when he heard about this. Fighting with another pack, in front of other humans no less, in broad daylight. I sensed the lecture of the century coming, perhaps even a real punishment. I worried about Tommy and Katrina and made a note to defend them as much as possible when we got home.

"I shouldn't have gotten you involved," Layla said sitting down at the roof, still not wondering about how we got up here in the first place. "This was my problem." If only she knew how wrong she was. I almost smiled.

"It's not your fault. You're right. The Gideons need to leave you alone," I said sitting beside her. Sitting there underneath the clouds, it reminded me of that day. I couldn't believe I was beside her again, her scent was so strong and wonderful. I had almost forgotten the euphoria I felt when I was in her presence. Maybe I repressed that memory in my quest for self control.

We'd both changed. I was much larger than she was now, though I was not much more muscular I looked at least a year older than her. Her hair was different, longer. Her body more mature though it hadn't grown much in size. Was it really only a year ago that we had spent that day together?

She sensed my staring and met my gaze. I could feel she had lots of unanswered questions. Why did I all of the sudden decide to never talk to her again? What was the link that was between us? But it was repressed. Instead we waited silently for the bell to ring. It wasn't a bad silence though. Far from it. It was almost like being alone with my thoughts, only she was right beside me. Not distracting, but she provided a distraction if my thoughts dwelled on darker subjects. All I needed to do was glance at her.

But just before the bell rang I realized something.

My inner beast was at bay. I hadn't heard from it since its tantrum at Michael.

"_Hello_?" I called for it.

There was no answer. I looked at Layla again. I had expected for it to be threatening to pounce her, pressuring me to woo her, but I felt nothing.

"_What? No ordering me to show my affection? No demanding me to lay my kill at her feet?"_ I asked it.

"_There's no need_," my inner monster finally answered.

"_Why? Now of all times you decide to back off_?" I asked it.

"_She has already been wooed. You know that, she's displayed her affections for you_," it stated in a frighteningly human, reasonable tone. I remembered. Our last parting and only she had kissed me that I had been too stunned to return. A moment that would be burned into my memory if I lived to be five hundred. "_She is in no danger while we are present. You have no need for me." _

_"So..."_ I thought for a moment. My alter ego barked a laugh.

"_While she is here I will leave you be. She can aid what your pack mates call your 'psychological illness_,'" it said. I thought about this as I dared to glance her way. Could it be? This whole time I thought she was the cause of me being the Lone Wolf. Aunt Marille had said the only way to keep me from going ballistic was keeping her away from me, when really she was my cure.

I wanted to ignore the fact that this was the definition of wishful thinking, but that inner beast, the endless chatterbox lodged in my psyche had finally been quiet.

The bell rang shattering the silence between Layla and me. We glanced at one another. Layla had been staring at the roof, maybe suddenly realizing that there was no logical explanation of how I'd gotten her up there.

"Um..." Layla said awkwardly. I braced myself. Here came the barrage of questions, the suspicions that could very well be the end of my pack, my species, and my life. Layla looked at me, head tilted as she cleared her throat uncomfortably.

"How do we get down?"

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	18. Her Trouble

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters and story though.

* * *

**Jonas:**

She was adorable, as emasculating as it is to say that adjective. I don't know, there was something about the way Layla had all of these things she could question, yet seemed to either avoid them or not care. She didn't know what Michael wanted with her, she just wanted him to leave her alone. She didn't know how I got her on top of the English building's roof, she just wanted down.

It felt safe to be with her. I could be as weird and well, wild as I wanted and she wouldn't even question it, I bet. It might have been this assumption that made me jump off the roof (it was only one story) and urged Layla to jump too.

She looked over the edge and cocked an eyebrow at me.

"What? You're going to catch me?" she asked skeptically. I shrugged.

"Yes," I said.

"Are you sure you can?" she asked.

"Positive," I guaranteed. I'd expected it to take a little longer to talk her down, but I only needed say that and she was swinging her legs over the edge and starting to scoot herself off. She threw her book down first. I let it fall.

"You better not do that to me," she joked as the paperback book hit the concrete with a slap. I smiled a little and then Layla let herself fall. I caught her, bridal style. If it weren't so depressing how doomed our infatuation was, it would have been romantic. I set her down and Layla fixed her glasses. "Nice catch."

"Thanks," I mentioned. Every bit of it was so normal to her. We walked back to the empty table where they'd left our things. I took a whiff and made sure that Anthony wasn't nearby. I hadn't seen him leave with the others. Layla seemed to half notice my nose in the air, but she only smiled and picked up her backpack slinging it over her shoulder.

"Good thing its Friday," I said casually. Layla snorted.

"Not really," she said grimly.

"You're really that crazy about school?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No. It's just I'm going to have nothing to do this weekend, but worry that those psychopaths know where I live and my sisters are out of the state by now," she said.

"What about your parents?" I asked.

"My dad works nights. Sleeps all day, works all night. My mom's out of town in Arizona," she said. She noticed my brows raise. "Living at my house is a lot like living in a dorm. People come and go, sometimes they stay others are always gone." She was going to be home alone.

An empty house. I couldn't even fathom the idea. Our mansion was filled with so many people, Tommy's family, Katrina's, me, my dad, about two other families, plus whatever visitors had dropped by. I felt a pang of guilt as I suddenly realized what she meant.

"How does Michael know where you live?" I asked catching up with her, in the wrong direction of my next class.

"I tutored him and Anthony at my house," she said. Layla looked at me, forcing an uncaring look on her face as she shrugged. "Its not a big deal though." I stopped her in her tracks and pulled out my cell phone.

"If he starts to bother you, call me. I mean it," I said. She hesitantly took out her cell phone and we exchanged phone numbers. A brief paranoia swept over I wondered if one of my pack mates might go through my address book. I simply named her "L" in my contacts.

"There's probably no need," Layla assured me.

"Just in case," I insisted. "Do you need a ride home?" Layla almost smiled.

"Um..." she started. The thought was tempting her. "No. I'll be fine. I've caused you enough trouble today."

"No trouble. Your house is on the way. I could drop you off right now if you want to ditch," I said. I shrugged. "I really should get home after that little incident." No doubt I was going to be getting a text from my father any second demanding I come home.

Layla looked in the direction of her class. I could tell she was thinking about walking home, Michael trailing her the entire way and she being unable to escape. She swallowed.

"Okay," she said. "If its not too much trouble."

We walked together to the parking lot in our comfortable silence. I opened the door for her in a unintended gentlemanly manner. It was custom of males to do this for females in our pack, but Layla seemed surprised. But she smiled appreciatively and slipped inside.

I walked around and got in the driver side. I admired the way Layla looked around the truck, probably to see if it had changed over time like we had. It hadn't. My truck had survived since the sixties without changing, one year wasn't going to change anything. I saw her smile as she noticed the eroded little hole in the floor where you could see straight through to the asphalt of the street.

I revved the engine with a smile.

"Memories," Layla mumbled. She was thinking about that day too. I chuckled.

"Yeah," I said.

"This entire day has been like one big..."

"Deja vu," I finished. Layla nodded.

"Yeah. Weird day," she said. She looked out the window. I turned out of the school parking lot.

"Are you okay?" I asked her halfway home. Layla looked at herself as if checking to make sure there was no bleeding she was unaware of.

"Yeah. Why?" she asked.

"Nothing. It's just been a strange day. I thought you'd be a bit more traumatized," I said. Layla smiled like I'd just given her a compliment.

"No. I was freaking out before lunch, wondering what I was going to do, but I feel better now," she said. She felt better _after_ the encounter with her stalkers. This girl was all backwards. I loved it. She didn't need to give me directions, and she didn't even bother to as she seemed content looking out the window. I turned onto Strawberry Lane and found her house, the one with the bay window.

Layla and I noticed what was wrong at exactly the same time. She was quite observant.

"Oh no," she said in disappointment. There was a dead raccoon on her porch. "Stupid coyotes. I'm going to have to wake up my dad and get him to throw it away."

Layla sighed as she stepped out of the truck. I hesitated a moment. I wondered she would be alright with me leaving her here. They'd left her another kill at her porch. Now I knew there was no need to be jealous though. They were taunting me. But I didn't like it.

"Are you okay?" Layla asked me through the open door as she reached for her backpack she'd thrown into the back.

"Yeah," I said quickly. "Why?"

"You're growling," Layla said with a little smile. I stopped immediately. I felt a pang off worry.

"No, I wasn't," I quickly denied. Layla had forgotten all about the growling before any suspicion had set it.

"Thanks for the ride," she said. She pulled out her house keys from her pocket as she approached her front door. I rolled down the passenger window. "Layla!" She turned. "Remember to call me if anything does happen. Okay?"

Layla nodded and opened the door to her house. Just like that she was gone. Again. I felt my cell phone buzz in my pocket. I grimaced, not bothering to check who it was. I turned around and headed toward home.

* * *

I wished it was a longer ride home. I knew it was bad when Tommy and Katrina were waiting for me at the porch swing. They stood up as I parked. I knew my father when he was in these moods. He was probably so frustrated that he'd sent them outside. I could only imagine what he was saying to their parents, I could faintly hear the ranting from outside.

"Hey," I said.

"He asked us to wait out here for you. You didn't kidnap Layla, did you?" Tommy asked sarcastically. As much as that was a thought in my mind to keep her away from Michael.

"No. How bad is it?" I asked nodding toward the inside where my father was ranting.

"On a scale from one to ten?" Katrina asked. "Its about a twenty-four." I grimaced.

"He thinks if we leave you alone with her for five seconds you're going to attack her," Tommy scoffed. I felt a little bit of relief that at least someone in this pack thought that as ridiculous as I did. Still, we had all disobeyed an order.

"JONAS!" I flinched unwillingly. It was the sharp tone my father used when I was a little pup doing something I knew I wasn't supposed to be doing. Tommy opened the screen door and made an after-you gesture.

We all filed into the living room. My father was pacing dramatically, wearing a robe which meant that luckily he'd been running today. His frustration wouldn't be quite as bad as it could be. My Aunt Marille was on the couch accompanied by her bag of McDonald's.

"Can we make this quick? I have an appointment," said my aunt never wary of my father's mood before she opened her mouth.

"Shut up, Marille," he said. She was unscathed by the remark responding by shoving fries into her mouth.

"I can explain," I started after a prolonged silence.

"You'd better," my father snarled.

"The Gideons were provoking Jonas, sir. They admitted to knowing he was a Lone Wolf and they were still stalking Layla," Katrina said. My father's brow furrowed.

"Who?"

"The human," Aunt Marille said. My father hated when we mentioned 'the human.' His eyes tightened and fists clenched.

"She sought _us_ out complaining that the Gideons wouldn't leave her alone," Katrina continued. "She stayed near us thinking that we would keep them away."

"Why would she think that?" My father's eyes were on me.

"I don't know," I said defensively.

"Probably because she knows that the Gideons and us have never been on friendly terms." Tommy gave the better answer.

"And why is that?"

"They've always displayed an interest in Layla. We never knew why, but today he admitted it was to aggravate Jonas. He was in Jonas's face challenging him to lose control. We all saw it," Katrina said. She looked at Tommy.

"I lost control before Jonas did. I attacked him first. Jonas wasn't even a part of the fight," Tommy admitted. Granted, he had attacked him before I did. But only to distract me to keep me from doing something stupid if I lost control. All three of us glanced at each other. Katrina nodded in agreement.

"Tommy kept me from attacking him. He did the right thing," I said.

"I will make judgements on what is right," my father growled.

"Then what would you have done?" I said sharply. This caused my father to pause in his pacing. I recognized the wild lack of restraint in my eyes. I looked at the floor in apology.

"Now we might have a feud with the Gideons. Honestly! Did you three want to start a war just because of your petty differences?" he demanded. I looked to Aunt Marille.

"You know about Lone Wolves. Tell him what would have happened if I lost control," I said. Aunt Marille swallowed the fries she was in the middle of chewing.

"He would have killed him. He possibly could have Changed in front of everyone. There would have been an investigation which would have put the entire pack in jeopardy," she said almost robotically.

"And how exactly did the Gideons provoke you?" my father said. He looked at me with his brows raised.

"They were bothering Layla, taking her tutoring services and forcing her to sit with them at lunch," Katrina said.

My father raised his brows and scoffed.

"Forcing?" he asked with a disbelieving smile.

"That's what Layla said," Katrina shrugged.

"Not to mention he's been leaving kills on her doorstep," I added.

"And how do you know this?" he asked me suspiciously. I shrugged.

"I didn't see it personally..." I lied looking diagonally at the floor. "Her sister mentioned it in class."

"That doesn't excuse what you've done," he said.

"Layla's afraid to be alone in her own house. She's worried the Gideons are going to come over," I said.

"How do you know _this_?" he asked.

"She told me," I said. Then I realized that was the wrong answer. I inwardly cursed myself for opening my mouth before thinking up a lie.

"I thought I forbade any contact with her. Am I wrong?" he asked me. I swallowed, biting back a retort that was threatening to jump out and get me in even bigger trouble. It was a good thing I hadn't mentioned that I gave her a ride home and had displayed some extraordinary werewolf talents in front of her today.

"And you two, I trusted you to keep an eye on him," he barked at Tommy and Katrina they both flinched as he turned his attention on them. I decided to save them

"But if she is so worried about them that she is seeking us out..." It worked. I'd taken the attention from my pack mates.

"Then nothing. Let the Gideons do what they want with her. That is out of our territory," my father said.

"No, its not. It's in our territory. This is Carter territory. _They_ are the trespassers!" I argued. My father was about to say something along the lines of maintaining my respect because he was my elder, Alpha, and my father when we were interrupted. Suddenly I jerked. I could feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. Of course everyone in the room with sensitive hearing heard it too. I'd just gotten a text message.

"Are you going to answer that?" my father asked cocking an eyebrow. I hesitated. He waited expectantly. I slowly took the phone out. My father held his hand. No one but my pack mates even had my number before today. I sighed knowing I was in huge trouble and dropped my phone in his hand.

It must be Layla, I thought.

My father flipped open my phone.

"Dammit!" he cursed and threw my phone on the floor. It clattered harshly on the ground making me, Tommy, and Katrina jump at once. He glared at me. "The phone bill's due." I scooped up my phone and looked at the name of the person who'd sent me the text. It was an automated text from our phone company. I couldn't believe my extraordinary luck.

"You three are grounded for a month. Straight to school, straight back. There will be no dates and runs will be monitored by either myself or a beta. You are bound to your rooms. Do you understand!" my father growled. We all nodded quickly. It could have been much, much worse.

"Good." He turned on his heel and stomped away muttering under his breath. We were left alone with my Aunt Marille.

I glared at her.

"Thanks for all your help," I spat angrily.

"Is that any way to speak to your elder?" she said with no real malice.

"He was provoking Jonas. He knows he's a Lone Wolf and that Layla is the one he's attracted to. Their father helped with your research, you know these kids know better," Tommy said daring to speak out of turn. Aunt Marille sighed.

"Very well," she said. "I will talk to your father and Dr. Gideon. Maybe we can schedule a lunch with them together and sort out this problem." She stood up her heels clacking as she left. She followed the direction my father went. The rest of us were alone. I looked to Tommy.

"Thank you," I said to him, meaning his taking out Michael so I didn't have to. He nodded with a forced smirk.

"That's what friends are for."

"IN YOUR ROOMS!" my father's voice roared. We all stood up and hurriedly made our way upstairs.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	19. Her Fright

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. LOVE the story though. I was rooting for Gabriel the whole way! I do own my characters and story though.

* * *

**Layla:**

It was Friday evening, 5:00. Jonas had been gone three hours and I was already thinking. Were we speaking again? Would they let me at their table again? Even if I had to abide by their rules which I was not to speak to them, that was fine.

I scoffed at myself.

That was stupid. I'd gotten them all in terrible trouble. It was all my fault. I felt a burst of frustration as I pictured myself approaching them, when they were obviously avoiding me. They _knew_ I was trouble, but I had begged. I thought for a moment, I'd begged. I had done everything but gotten down on my hands and knees and groveled.

They had to let me at their table. What else could they have said?

Stupid Michael and his stupid friends! He had to ruin everything! I could have stayed there and enjoyed their company if he hadn't been there. Maybe Jonas and I could've talked more. Maybe his friends would start liking me.

I had no hopes of that anymore.

My blood was boiling at that point. If Michael came near me that moment I would have attacked him. No wonder Tommy had jumped him, that kid was infuriating. So cocky and beautiful just because all the girls stare at him like a tourist would stare at the Mona Lisa, something so perfected it couldn't be touched.

Did he think I was like that? Was he frustrated with me because I had more sense than to see him that way? Perhaps if I pretended to gawk at him he would leave me alone. But that was out of the question. What would Jonas think?

Ah! Stop thinking about Jonas!

I fell down face first in my covers and exhaled. Now I had myself all riled up.

I heard the phone ring downstairs. _Hell no_, I thought.

Michael had that phone number. Luckily, only my sisters, parents, and the newly added Jonas had my cell phone number. I went and sat at my window looking out the sheer white curtains. Darkness was crawling nearer. But time was going by with excruciating slowness.

I watched the people walk by my house. Dog walkers, joggers. I thought about reading or writing in my journal and quickly decided I was too anxious for such a relaxing thing to do. That was a big negative on the homework. I tapped my foot impatiently and groaned in defeat. I picked up my phone.

If I weren't so afraid of what Jonas would say I would call him. Perhaps I could call my sisters and see what they were up to. No, they were probably busy. I wondered how well their meeting with the agent went, but not for long. My mind quickly returned to Jonas.

The house phone rang again. I watched through the window as my father left without saying goodbye, probably thinking I was upstairs lost in my books and my sisters were somewhere school/friend oriented. He was sort of right. He saw my from the window. I gave a slight wave. He spared a grin and waved back as he pulled out of the driveway. With that I was alone.

The house phone rang once more.

Then my cell phone rang. I jumped in surprise, my cell phone ring was so unfamiliar it took a while to register that my phone was the one that was ringing. I walked to my desk and glanced at the screen. I felt like I was imagining the name that appeared.

"Hello?" I answered baffled.

"Hi..." said a hesitant voice. "Layla? It's Jonas." I went back over to my window.

"Good timing," I mumbled mostly to myself. "Is anything wrong?"

"I'm sort of grounded," Jonas said.

"Yeah. I sort of am too. I have nowhere to go. Did you get in too much trouble?" I asked him casually and grimaced as I was predicting the answer.

"Um... Yes," he answered. I laughed uneasily and then slapped my forehead again cursing myself.

"I'm really sorry about that," I said pulling my legs up to my chin. I felt a whole lot better with his voice in my ear. "God, I'm so sorry about Jonas. Tell your friends too. I shouldn't have gotten them involved."

"It really is okay," he sounded like he was moving back and forth. "We were already involved with those fools, believe it or not." I smiled despite my not understanding.

"Looks like its going to rain again," I said delicately moving my curtain aside.

"It's been so rainy lately," Jonas said. I imagined looking out his own window. "Looks like all the clouds are coming from your end of town." I giggled.

"Figures. Trouble seems to be seeking me out lately," I said lightly.

"It has," he said. I couldn't believe we were talking on the phone. I cleared my throat as my mind was moving a million miles per hour. I found a receipt I'd used as a book mark sticking out of one of my books that littered my floor. I took it out knowing it wouldn't be too hard to find my place again. I fidgeted with it folding and refolding it.

"You know, I shouldn't be talking to you," he said. I smiled, I guess appreciatively that he went against whatever rules there were against talking to me. Maybe it was just because he was grounded.

"You can hang up, if you want," I said.

"No!" Jonas said quickly. He sighed. "No. I... don't want to. I'm tired of listeing to everyone... But I am still trying to be sneaky. So don't mind me if I whisper. I'm going to turn on some music so no one hears me."

"That's fine," I said waiting a moment. I thought about how lucky I was. I'd never predicted anything like this when I woke up this morning. And to think I had tried to play sick this morning. It was an adventure, not such a scary one now that Jonas was involved.

I could hear him rustling with his things on the other end, probably looking for a CD or something.

"Hey, Jonas," I said.

"Yeah?" I hesitated a moment, thinking of something to talk about.

"That day... That day when we hung out," I started. He was quiet. "Did you...?" I paused. "What made you chase after me like that?"

"Which time?" he laughed.

"When we first met. I walked into the wrong office," I said.

"Your scent," he said automatically. My brow furrowed.

"Did I forget to take a shower that day?" I asked smiling.

"It wasn't a bad smell. It was... wonderful," he said. I felt a girly chill crawl up my spine that somehow linked to my widening smile. I felt stupid and giddy, like... well, kind of like Phoebe. I wondered if she felt like this all the time. I was suddenly very glad that I was alone and Jonas couldn't see me because I probably looked like an idiot.

"Has anything bad happened yet?" he asked. I shook my head, as if he could see.

"Not yet," I said. "Give it time."

"Yes," he said light heartedly. There was a silence. He cleared his throat.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you call exactly?" Another pause. "Hello?"

"I'm here," Jonas said slowly. He took a breath. "I was worried about you. Not to mention I'm grounded and I'm incredibly bored."

"Me too. I'm not bound to the house though. I'd keep you company if I could," I said watching a white car pass by. Droplets started to appear from the window. The patters began and there was a single clap of thunder.

"Oh. Thunder," I said laughing a little bit as I'd jumped to the sudden sound.

"Do you remember when we talked about those books that you read?" Jonas asked suddenly.

"Mm hmm," I said standing up and walking around a little bit. I moved my clothes around with my foot making a clean spot on the floor.

"How much do you believe is true about vampires and... werewolves or whatever?" he said, still keeping his voice at a whisper. I heard music turn on in the background. I smiled a little bit sitting in the clean spot I'd made and stacking my worn and half-read books.

"I don't know. I've always believed there was a little bit in truth in everything," I said beginning to use my books as building blocks to make a castle.

"That doesn't answer my question," Jonas said his voice more playful.

"Um..." I thought for a moment. I sighed thinking of what I always thought when I finished a book. The jealousy of finding love and adventure. "I guess I always... hoped they were true. But logically speaking I guess that would make no sense."

"And if it were true?" he asked.

"I would love it," I said with a smile.

"You sound like you've thought this over," he said.

"Don't you fantasize?" I asked him.

"Sort of. Not about werewolves though," he said. I shrugged to myself.

"I do," I said. There was a pause on the other side that sounded like Jonas was taking a breath. He laughed.

"I guess we always want what we can't have," he said. I watched the window again. A white car passed from one side of the sill to the next.

"Does it bother you to be alone in the house? You said your family was gone a lot," he said.

"Usually it doesn't. I normally just work on whatever is due the next day. I lead a very boring life," I said. "At least I used to."

"I don't think you ever will again," Jonas said. I watched the droplets slide down my window. Thunder clapped again.

"Are you afraid? Your father must be at work by now," Jonas said.

"I feel a little better now that I have someone to talk to," I said. I heard something. The wind picked up slamming the shutters of our backyard shed. I flinched, then cursed myself for being so jumpy. I cleared my throat.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, its just night time noises. They bother me," I said. I sighed. "I wish I had a dog or something to keep me company though." Jonas barked out a laugh. I laughed a little too, not quite seeing the humor in what I'd said. "I just mean, you know, something to curl up with on rainy days..." Jonas continued laughing, now his laugh was muffled as though he'd placed his hand over his mouth. "Ugh... Never mind."

"Oh, Layla. You're so cute," Jonas said like he was talking to a five year old. I stiffened from where I sat. _Cute? _I thought about that for a moment. I guess cute was good. I made a note to talk to Phoebe and Paulette. Was cute more of a romantic or friendly adjective?

Jonas quickly caught himself and stopped.

"I'm sorry. I guess its more of an inside joke," he said. I forgave him distractedly as I glanced out the window again. Another white car went from one side of the window to the other. Something made me pause though. Was it another white car or the same?

A creaky step made me flinch. I knew that creaky step, even if it was outside my room. I knew not to step on that step when I woke up in the middle of the night and headed downstairs for a snack. I glanced over my shoulder slowly, half expecting to be staring into the face of an ax murderer or Freddy Krueger. And maybe I would be if this were some other fan fiction.

I didn't see anything. Still, my instincts nagged at me to stay alert.

"Layla? You alright?" Jonas said.

"Just... jumpy," I said quietly.

"Why? What's wrong? Is it just the rain or is something there?" Jonas said with sudden urgency. There was no more sound, but the feeling was impossible to ignore.

"I'm not sure," I whispered.

"Layla, please tell me if someone is there," Jonas said. There was the faintest step one only a child who'd grown up in this house would recognize. It was the soft step of someone on the hallway carpet. I knew the footsteps when my mom was coming down to make sure I wasn't reading when I was grounded, because I usually was and I had to hide my book before she saw me.

"I think someone's here," I whispered.

"I'll be right there," Jonas said without further debate. Then he hung up on me.

"Jonas? Jonas!" I hissed. I looked at the screen to see that the call had ended. I cursed out loud, saying the worst words I knew. Whatever was there was still outside my door. I thought of Michael, crazed and insane. I thought of some creep who had been passing by with a knife. I even thought of a zombie or that girl from "The Ring." But nothing in the world could have prepared me for what I did see.

* * *

I'm having fun with this story. Tell me what you think, if you think something should happen let me know. I take everything in reviews into consideration. 


	20. Her Capture

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters though.

Look everyone! I wrote something different!

Happy? ;-)

* * *

(A/N: These two points of view are happening simultaneously. Sorry bout the cliff hanger folks. It's just too much fun to torture readers.)

**Jonas:**

Had I even bothered to confirm the danger? Not really. Had I even said goodbye before I hung up? Nope. I just turned off my cell phone and tossed it aside. I ripped my shirt over my head pausing only to realize my father's car was driving away. I looked to see he'd taken several of the betas, plus Aunt Marille, with him.

Perfect.

"_Let me take over_," hissed the familiar voice from within me.

"No way." I didn't bother to worry about whether or not anyone heard me. I hopped out of one pant leg and accidentally ripped the other. It didn't matter, at least my leg was free.

"_She's in trouble_," the monster said.

"I'll take care of it," I grumbled.

"_I am stronger than you_!" the beast said.

"Shut the hell up!" I growled. I lost that battle very quickly. All my learned self control disappated as my body twisted and shifted into a new shape. Suddenly I was on all fours on the ground. My vision was fading and returning. I could barely see glimpses of myself in the mirror. My skull made and audible crack, existing hairs grew longer into brown fur and new hairs sprouted from pores in my body.

My mouth opened, releasing a roar that must have been restrained for ages. A shiver of pleasure rushed through my body.

Oh! It felt good! My vision corrected itself. I wasn't blacking out, I realized. I _was_ still in control, but adrenaline had replaced the blood in my veins. My fingers clenched into long, bear-like claws. I shivered in wonderful, exhilarating enthusiasm. A ragged chuckle of pleasure chortled from my throat.

I was me.

I was the beast.

I felt like the two halves that were me, the human and the wolf, had combined into what I was supposed to be. Something that made me feel stronger than I'd ever been.

"_I have to find her_," my own thoughts felt primal and yet reasonable. I couldn't argue with myself anymore, not when Layla was in trouble. As I started to run out of my room, claws scraping the polished wooden floors, I wondered if I lost all my ration or if I truly could balance the two parts of me. I passed the other bedroom doors smelling to see who was home, I wasn't planning on being stealthy.

I could only smell Tommy and Katrina. That was a plus. As I ran by Tommy's room I saw the door open, he was just a blur as I was picking up speed.

"Katrina! He's making a break for it!" Tommy shouted by the time I'd made a hole out of the front door. Ever the vigilant babysitters, I knew they would be after me in seconds. I reached the meadow in between the city and the forest.Tommy and Katrina were too far behind me. Was it just me or was I running faster and stronger? I slowed only for a moment to smell the air.

I knew her scent, the beast had memorized it perfectly. The strawberry, plum string of fragrance was just as enticing as the first time I'd smelt it. It made my tail wag excitedly. Then, like a bloodhound, my nose found the direction pointing toward the setting sun.

I took off again, too fast for any unfortunate bird of rabbit that might be in my path. Wind whistled in my ears and dry branches were soon saw dust under my paws. I drew closer trying not to be seen as I entered town. It was already getting dark and the rain was beginning to evolve from a drizzle or a pour.

Then something unexpected happen. Layla's smell was coming straight toward me.

* * *

**Layla:**

I stared in absolute horror to see a black nose wedging in the space between the bottom of the door and the floor. My curse went unheard as I was completely breathless. It sniffed and I saw clawed paws stop in the hallway. I dropped my phone, the clack of its impact louder than the clap of thunder that followed. I jumped as it skid under my bed.

The monster jerked. We were both still, both aware that of one another's presence and we both knew it.

I was the first to move. I ran for my window, struggling to undo the hatch. The monster growled and let out a ear shattering roar that shook the glass pane I was trying to escape from. Tears burned my eyes as I struggled to open the window.

Damn thing was stuck! The barking was deafening. I looked to the door to see it shaking violently under the attack of whatever creature was on the other side. I pulled on the window sill again, when I suddenly realized that this was a bay window on the second floor. It wasn't supposed to open.  
"Damn it, I'm so stupid!" I cursed in frustration. The wood of my door splintered and shatter. I covered my head with my arm and then peek over them. It was a giant blonde, growling wolf. It was thin and lengthy, but still muscular. Blue eyes glowed, flashing hatred at me. I swallowed and slowly moved away. The growling grew louder with every step.

"Nice... dog," I said hesitantly. I looked at the messy floor of my room. It was still littered with clothes and books. I slowly knelt, eyes never leaving the predator. "Easy," I coaxed. My hands searched on the ground and felt something hard. "Nice boy. You're a big boy aren't you?" I said hoping the dog would relax. It looked like I was just irritating it.

I snatched up a hardcover book. It bolted at me, I reacted too fast for my brain to process my actions. It jumped, I swung the book on the tip of its nose as hard as I could with a loud THWAP! The wolf, dog, monster, thing flinched. That was all I needed to get over to the other side of the room.

My efforts were in vain though. I was too slow. The creature caught me on the waist of my jeans and dragged me down onto my back. I screamed as it leapt over me, standing there baring its teeth. I had no other defense now. I screamed. Jaws closed around my throat, but never bit down. My scream stopped and the wolf didn't move. Its hot breath came out of its throat in ragged puffs of moisture. It's teeth was slimy with slobber, dripping across my neck. Was it torturing me? Did it want to kill me?

Perhaps it was just to quiet my screaming.

"Hold her down, Michael," said a voice I didn't recognize. From my compromised position, I could see hardly anything aside from the yellow-tan fur.

The silence was too long. I didn't know what to say or what to do.

"Let her go," said the voice. The creature pulled away looking into my eyes with its brilliant blue ones, exhaling through its nostrils, and fogging up my glasses. He paused for a moment and then a long pink tongue came out and licked me from my chin to me eyes. I was still to traumatized to react. It moved away and I could see the man in my doorway now. He was a taller, thinner man around his late thirties. Black hair was globbed with gel, sharp curls around his neck.

"My name is Dr. Gideon and we are not here to hurt you," he said kneeling to my level as I was still flat on my back on the floor.

"Then get out of my house," I said, sounding more pathetic than brave. He laughed a melodic laugh and offered me a hand to pick myself up. I scooted away from him and picked myself up. My arm immediately shot up my bed looking for my cell phone I had dropped earlier. This Dr. Gideon man gave me a disappointed look.

"Don't go for the phone," he warned. I ignored him. This time the blonde beast leapt on me again, pinning my shoulders to the floor with his front paws. "I warned you. Now, we're going to go for a little ride. It shouldn't be too difficult, it will take a day, maybe two. But I promise you will be comfortable the whole way."

"You're taking me?" I said shakily. He nodded.

"I am, yes," he said. I was silent, trying to put it all together. I looked at the oversized wolf on steroids. Dr. Gideon's words echoed in my mind. _Hold her down, Michael._

Michael? THE Michael? The Michael who'd gotten suspended after fighting with Tommy Michael? My eyes widened, but no one said anything. Michael, the dog and possibly my stalker, herded behind me nudging me forward as Dr. Gideon headed out my bedroom door.

"Where are we going?"

"You needn't worry," Dr. Gideon said waving away my concern. Michael walked behind me, his tail swishing excitedly hitting the hallway walls with heavy thuds. He gave an open mouth grin much like a dog would, but his teeth took away the familiar canine friendliness.

"Jonas is on his way, yes?" Dr. Gideon asked over his shoulder as he held the front door open for me. I stopped in my tracks. Michael had to brake hard to keep from running into me. He grunted irritably.

"Jonas? What does this have to do with Jonas?" I demanded to know in a sudden burst of bravery. Dr. Gideon flashed perfect teeth at me.

"Everything," he said. The small white car drove out was in my driveway, the one that had been passing back in forth in front of my house while I chattered on with Jonas. I felt like an idiot for not paying attention. Dr. Gideon laid his hand on my shoulder, next a white van pulled up to the curb. Anthony was at the wheel, Bridget perked up and waved like she was an old friend coming over to give me a ride.

My hopes sank into my stomach that was already churning.

"I think I'm going to throw up," I muttered under my breath. Dr. Gideon walked around the white car and motioned for me to get in the passenger side. I did, Michael was close behind me. I knew if I didn't do it on my own they were going to make me. Seeing as how I was safely inside with no means of escape with Dr. Gideon on my other side, Michael jogged back to the van. He was probably too large to fit inside this little sedan.

We pulled out of the driveway, rain pattering on the windshield. I tried to comprehend what was going on. My mind was searching for logical answers and evey conclusion I came to didn't sound that logical. We headed down the street, then all of the sudden we were picking up speed. I looked over at our driver, his hands were clenched around the steering wheel. My heart was thumping.

"Hold on," he said.

Hold on?

The car screeched to a halt just as a giant animal ran into the street.

* * *

Look! Something else different! 


	21. Her Ransom

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters though.

Sorry for the delay. I'm from Southern California and my city was burning down. Actually, it still is. But you are my priority, my friends. So before I have to evacuate and lose everything on my computer, here's the chapter I've been working on.

* * *

**Layla:**

There was a bear in the middle of the road! No, not a bear, a dog, wolf... whatever it was it was standing there in the middle of the street eyes wide and headlights glaring at it. I felt my brows knit in concern. He looked like Michael, but the eyes were familiar. They were innocent and warming.

Jonas?

It glanced at me through the windshield. Taut muscles sank in relief. All I could do was stare. It was like a foreign animal in the zoo, so exotic that you couldn't help but be intrigued. Dr. Gideon rested his hand on my shoulder shaking me from my stupor and looked at the beast.

Jonas crouched down and roared, shaking every fiber of the car. I flinched unwillingly.

"No harm needs to come to her," he said. I raised my brows. I was a hostage for Jonas? I started to open my mouth, but it was too dry to form words. Rain was falling in heavy sheets, soaking Jonas's fur. I was now too frightened to stay in the car, too frightened to get out.

On either side of the car Michael (now he looked like a human again), Bridget, and Anthony walked into the street. Anthony went around to unlock the van. I was waiting to hear Jonas's voice. He only bared his teeth and growled.

"Oh, come now. All we want is to get you in the car and take you to a place where your talents will be more useful," Dr. Gideon said. He stepped out from the smaller car we were in and stood outside the door. Jonas cocked his head to the side, not quite understanding. "We don't want to repress your gift, Jonas. Layla is an excellent tool..." Jonas interrupted baring his fangs again and letting out a low growl. "She releases a stronger side of your. You could be an unstoppable force."

* * *

**Jonas:**

I stared at her. I felt naked in front of Layla in the form of a wolf (I supposed technically I was). She could run away screaming. She could cry out that there were monsters trying to kidnap her. She had every right in the world to want out of this supernatural nightmare. I couldn't blame her for hating me for what I was. I could barely forgive myself for being the monster I am. My heart was rhythmically fluttering in my chest. My head wouldn't stop flip-flopping from one thought to another.

What would she think of me now? How do I save her? Why did they want me? How was I an unstoppable force? Where were they taking us? Could they be persuaded to take me and leave her if I cooperated?

Michael looked smug as ever, that stupid smile I had vowed to swipe off his face hours long before today's encounter.

My glare narrowed on him and he didn't move. My muscles tensed.

Whatever was going to happen, it was not going to end well.

* * *

**Layla:**

Werewolves. Real live werewolves. Past conversations suddenly started to make sense.

"Layla will be fine. Just get into the back of the van," Dr. Gideon said. Jonas roared and started to charge. In a flash Michael was by my side.

"All I would need is one second to snap her neck. Are you willing to put her in that kind of danger?" Michael said smoothly. Jonas skid to a stop. I looked up at Michael. He glanced at me and gave an apologetic shrug. I felt my eyes narrow. Rage built suddenly.

"What the hell is going on?"

"Quiet, Layla," Michael warned me with a low animalistic growl.

"No!" I glared at him. Once again, Michael expressed his intimidation I'd always felt from him. Only this time I knew why he was so scary. He was a werewolf. Anthony, Bridget, and Dr. Gideon must have been too. I suddenly understood the isolation Jonas put himself through. He was being loyal to his family. He did like me, but having me around was too dangerous for both of us. I was Aiden to his Vivian, to put it in "_Blood and Chocolate_" terms. I swallowed the fear at that thought.

I was not going to freak out. I was going to take this in strides like Aiden never could. I was the one who'd wanted to be the star of my own novel.

"Jonas, don't listen to them," I said unwilling to be a damsel in distress. Time to play my bluff. "Michael wouldn't..."

"Wouldn't I?" Michael said cocking an eyebrow. With that he yanked me out of the car, pulling me through my seatbelt onto the asphalt floor. There was a painful thud as the back of my skull hit the small rocks. In seconds Michael was over me, still as a human, but there was insatiable rage in his eyes that made me gasp audibly.

Jonas roared from where he stood.

"Get in the van, Jonas. We'll be taking her with us. You'll get much more quality time where we're going," Dr. Gideon said. For a moment no one moved. It almost seemed as though the rain had frozen around us, waiting for him to make a decision. Try to rescue me and risk killing me? Obey the captors? Decide neither was worthy and just attack everyone?

Jonas slowly moved around the car. The van Bridget was driving was parked behind us. Reluctantly, he stepped inside, but not before sparing me a glance from my spot on the ground. My breaths were choppy and panicked.

I looked up to see Michael lips still curled over his teeth over. His growl stopped suddenly. He smiled satisfied.

"Scared?" he asked.

"No," I lied.

"You should be," he threatened. _Come on, say something heroic,_ I urged myself. It took a lot of will, and my shaking limbs may have given my cowardice away, but I tilted my head up at him and grinned.

"D-Don't be so melodramatic," I said shakily. He gave a gruff laugh making me groan in frustration. I guess it was hard to come off as brave with a monster hovering over you.

"Michael! Get off her! We need you in the back to watch him," Dr. Gideon barked. Michael responded immediately, pulling me up with him, then shoving me back in the car. Dr. Gideon was back in the driver's seat, Michael hit the backseat. I felt a pang of worry with him beside me and Dr. Gideon to my left. Left with only one option I watched our familiar city of Danwell behind us disappear.

_This is a novel. You need to be caught up in the story,_ Logic told me. I looked forward out the windshield again.

"Could..." I hesitated, but had already said something. It was too late to stop now without showing fear. "Could someone tell me what's going on?"

"I suppose we could," Dr. Gideon said. There was no explanation. My frustration piqued.

"Please?" I asked. Dr. Gideon sighed and began to tell my own story from a werewolf's point of view.

* * *

Don't worry. We're not really being evacuated... at least not yet. I just needed an excuse for not posting sooner. 


	22. Her Room

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters, so hands off. I have nothing witty to say, so here's the story. Oh yeah! And my house and family are fine. The big bad fire didn't get us. However, I got two days off school from it, so YAY! for that.

* * *

**Jonas:**

I'd really blown it. The van was dark and my lumbering oversized body strained to keep my balance. Michael had secured me in chains and some heavy duty muzzle that had been fitted for me. I changed back to my human form in the darkness, still somehow wrapped up and contained. Michael sat at the other end of the van by the windows. The car gently rocked and turned with the curves in the road.

Watching Michael made my blood boil. It was impossible to think of attacking him when Layla's life was on the line. She'd seen me. She knew what I was. I was completely ashamed. She would know everything. I'd let her and my family down. Her knowledge was grounds for both of our executions.

"Hey," Michael said getting my attention. I looked up with a glare. A growl rumbled from within me. "Don't get all pissy at me."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It's not our fault. The doctor lost his last Lone Wolf. He needed a new one," Michael said. His bright blue eyes flickered softly.

"You didn't have to get her involved," I said.

"Yes, we did. Jonas, don't you get it? You're a super weapon, but only when Layla is in danger. You're something beyond supernatural. You could be all powerful," Michael said. "But not by yourself. You need Layla as incentive to awaken that part of you."

I had no idea what he was talking about. Then I remembered when Layla and I were talking on the phone. The beast had taken over. It made me run like I had never run before. I felt power that I'd never felt before. But that couldn't be a weapon of mass destruction. I mean, I wasn't exactly a nuclear bomb.

"Believe me. I've seen a Lone Wolf. It's an amazing... terrible sight," Michael said in a low voice. I still wasn't so sure.

"How did you get suckered into this?" I asked him. Michael paused. He fiddled with something in his hand and distractedly looked out the window. He shook his head as if he was trying to convince himself of something. Then he looked sadly at the ground.

"Some of the story we told your pack was true. Dr. Gideon told my father, the Alpha, that if we used a Lone Wolf we would be an unstoppable force. At the time our territory was being threatened by an outside pack. My pack mate and best friend, Sarah, happened to be a Lone Wolf. She was obsessed with this human boy," Michael said.

"Dr. Gideon did stuff without my father's permission. He kidnapped that human to test Sarah's abilities. He threatened to kill him if she told the rest of our pack," he said. Michael paused to look out the tinted black windows. "He tested her endurance, her agility, her speed, all with the incentive that if she didn't hit a certain mark that Gideon would kill him. Her family, Anthony, Bridget, and I had no idea what was wrong with her. Then one day when Gideon was testing her, she called his bluff and refused to play his game anymore.

"Gideon shot the human in the head. Sarah went absolutely ballistic. She just lost it. She ran through the mansion killing people right and left. I mean, we couldn't even stand to fight her. We were busy evacuating the pups, just getting the hell out of there. The adults were still inside trying to distract her. They knew very well that they were sacrificing themselves so the rest of us could get to safety. Something went wrong, we don't know how, but they sparked a fire. Maybe someone started it on purpose. Sarah had gone insane. She needed to be killed. The whole place was burned to a crisp with everyone inside."

Michael looked to me for a reaction. I felt myself pale. A Lone Wolf? Capable of taking down an entire pack?

"You were trying to agitate me..." I started to piece together what was going on.

"So that you would lash out and Change in front of everyone. That way, you would have no choice but to either come with us with Layla or you would both be killed by your own pack for revealing what you are to the humans," Michael said checking his cell phone for the time. A blue light emitted from his face. Chains rattled as the van slowed down to go over a speed bump.

"He's not going to hurt her," I said to Michael. "Is he?"

Michael glanced up.

"As long as you cooperate I don't see why he would," he said with a light shrug.

"If he did this to your friend, then why are you sticking around with Gideon?" I asked.

"Because, my friend. I am the heir Alpha to the Lucas pack. Gideon is the temporary Alpha until I'm twenty-one. I'm playing nice so that he'll stick around. And on my twenty-first, I'm going to kill that son of a bitch and then go out for my first legal drink. Sorry to have you caught in the middle, but the dead man's in charge until that day when I can have my pack's revenge," he said matter of factly. Michael lifted his legs up against the opposite wall.

I looked down at the floor. I couldn't rely on this jerk to help me. He wasn't going to break rules for me, he wasn't even going to break rules to avenge his family. He was going to wait until it was perfectly legitimate to kill Gideon. Wasn't that just like a werewolf?

I sighed and rested my back flat on the wall. It thudded against the back of the van wall gently. All I could think about was what I'd done. I hoped Layla would forgive me.

* * *

**Layla:**

Okay...

I was trying very hard to process all the information in my head. Werewolves, that explained Jonas's strange living situation with all those other families. Jonas's unpredictable temper. His infatuation with me.

This whole time I thought I was obsessed with Jonas. I was the one who couldn't keep him off my mind for a whole year, but Jonas had friends and family always keeping him in check to make sure he couldn't sneak out to find me. However, he had a psychological excuse for his infatuation. I sure didn't.

It was awkward riding alongside my captor who was going back and forth between being absurdly quiet and then telling me everything he knows about werewolves. It wasn't that I didn't care. I just wanted to talk to Jonas. I wanted him to give me the answers I needed. After about the forth drive thru, Dr. Gideon handed me my soy tacos and Sprite. Don't think I didn't of yelling to the teenaged drive thru guy working to save me, but honestly, what could that sixteen year old have done? Not to mention Dr. Gideon already threatened to knock me out with one swipe if I tried anything funny. He didn't need to worry I wasn't about to leave Jonas with these people. I still wasn't sure what they wanted with him.

"Can I see Jonas?" I asked Dr. Gideon.

"Probably, eventually," he answered. Glancing sideways at me. I stared out the windshield, trying to unwrap my hamburger. "I bet you have a few choice words for him."

I sank in my seat.

"Not really," I grumbled. I just wanted to see if he was okay. The large, pale man looked intrigued.

"You resent him, right? For making you go through all this?" he asked.

"Not really. In a way I sort of asked for it," I said shyly keeping my head down.

"Oh, really?" Dr. Gideon said.

"Yeah. I was the one that wanted to be a part of the supernatural adventure," I said. It took a moment of silence before I realized that Dr. Gideon was watching me incredulously. I met his gaze. The doctor looked quite confused. "What?"

"You wanted to be kidnapped by a bunch of monsters?" Dr. Gideon asked.

"No, I've just always wanted something fantastical like this to happen. But now that it has I'm not so sure anymore. And I wouldn't call you monsters per say, just a different kind of people, like vampires," I said. Dr. Gideon barked out a sudden laugh that startled me.

"There are no such things as vampires," the man said. I looked out the window watching the trees and other vegetation. Yeah right, like I was going to believe that. If there was such thing as werewolves there _must_ be such thing as vampires. "You are a very strange girl."

"So when am I going to be able to see him?" I asked. Dr. Gideon gave me an odd look.

"When we get to Illinois," he responded with a sigh.

"Illinois?" I echoed. My first thoughts went to my sisters who were in Chicago at that modeling gig. Luckily, I wasn't stupid enough to blurt out and mention that my triplet sisters were currently wandering around that city without any adults with them, or with any adults even knowing where they were.

It was a long trip, one that I would have slept through if I wasn't terrified of the werewolf who was driving the car. The whole time I sat there I was tense. I flinched when he reached for the radio knob which he found amusing. This guy had a need for speed. We were doing at least ninety the whole way there. My thoughts kept going to Jonas, I thought of him as the beast I'd just met and then as the boy who took me on top of roof tops and watched the rain with me.

At about five in the morning the next day we made it to some rural grassy part of Illinois. The sky was pink, peaking over the flat land when we reached a lonely road. Tall yellow grass surrounded us on both sides. In the distance and two story white and blue house appeared. It looked like it had been standing there for quite a while. But there was a strange building behind it, that looked like it was recently constructed. It was a large perfect cube.

The sky was perfectly clear unlike the cloudy skies of our hometown. On this lone stretch of land there were no other buildings for miles and miles. I guess the less people to be suspicious about noises or strange activity, the better. That unnerved me.

"It used to be an old farm. We did some renovations to the barn," Dr. Gideon said proudly. I guess he wanted me to make some comment on it. I almost said something out of politeness, but I remembered that all formalities were out the window when you were just kidnapped.

"Will I ever be able to go home?" I finally found the courage to ask him.

"No," Dr. Gideon said confidently. My throat closed up with a panicked sob that I couldn't release without opening the floor gates of tears.

The car rolled into the driveway and braked. Something about this was starting to feel real. It didn't seem so magical and dreamlike. I stood up and looked around us. The wind blew lightly making the yellow grass sway. I was absolutely exhausted, but my heart was pumping even harder when I smelled the air and realized it smelled different from home. The white van came up behind us, but it pulled right past us to the cube building behind the house. I watched the black tinted windows, hoping for a glimpse of a silhouette.

"You know, in all my studies of Lone Wolves, I've never seen a case like this," Dr. Gideon said to me. I whipped around to face him. He slammed his car door shut. He smiled at me. "You... don't seem the least bit concerned that there are werewolves, or that one is clinically obsessed with you." I stayed quiet.

Dr. Gideon shrugged.

"We'll have to do some tests on you as well," he said. My eyes widened at this. Dr. Gideon strolled toward the house. Here I was unguarded, standing in a car. I glanced. No keys in the ignition. How was I going to make my daring escape? There was no one to stop me from running, but did I really think I could outrun a werewolf on foot? Come on, I'm not that stupid.

"Come on, Layla. I'll show you to your room," said the werewolf taking the keys from his pockets. I heard a growl come from behind the house. "Don't worry. The pups can take car of Jonas. You're safe."

"I wasn't worried about me," I mumbled under my breath unsure if he heard or not.

Dr. Gideon unlocked the door. I was absolutely completely shocked when I shocked when I looked around. The house looked strangely similar to a grandmother's home. There was homey floral wallpaper, an outdated couch with hideous carpet. The only thing that was not very grandparent about it was that there were no pictures anywhere at all.

"You don't need to know this part. You won't be out here much," he said leading me up the stairs. I followed hands buried deep in my jacket's pockets. The pale sunlight was starting to shine through the inside of the house. The place lacked furniture upstairs. Except for one room. The one at the very end of the hall with a bathroom in it.

We walked into this room. There was a wonderful bed inside and bookcases and bookcases aligning the walls. There was a treadmill beside the bed. On the desk there was a computer. A computer?

"Don't get your hopes up. There's no internet. We're not cruel, Layla. We needed to give you some form of entertainment in your stay here. Anthony installed numerous games, Bridget ordered all the books in the bookcases. Michael got the treadmill, since you won't be getting much exercise," Dr. Gideon said. That caught my attention.

"You're locking me up in here?" I said almost squeaking with appall. Dr. Gideon gave a shrug. Lack of sleep and time alone was getting me irritated. "Why?

"We need you as incentive for Jonas's abilities. A Lone Wolf's potential can only be provoked when something involves his mate. Don't worry. I've seen him, he's extremely devoted," Dr. Gideon said.

"What are you going to do? Put a gun to my head in front of him?" I said. Dr. Gideon's mouth closed quickly.

"I will be here twenty-four seven. When I cannot be here, the pups will. Like I said, don't worry. We'll take good care of you," he said.

"And what about Jonas?" I asked raising my voice which caught him offguard. "Are you going to hurt him? Are you going to torture him? What the HELL is wrong with you?" The werewolf clenched his jaw, annoyed at being spoken to the way he was. At this point it wasn't like I cared.

"There's no need to raise your voice," Dr. Gideon said raising a hand to calm me.

"What are you talking about!? This is the perfect time to raise my voice!" I retorted.

"It won't do you any good," Dr. Gideon said.

"Well!..." I started lamely. "It makes me feel better!" That was stupid. What kind of heroine was I? Dr. Gideon looked nothing more than annoyed. He lightly pushed me inside, just so he could have room to close the door. It locked with a click. The door looked different from the house. It was new and state of the art where the rest of the house had a chocolate chip cookie homeness to it. I tugged experimentally of the handle. It was hostage proof. I was becoming more and more aware of the situation. This really wasn't from one of my books. I was temporarily frozen with horror.

Snap out of it, Layla! Get moving!

Quickly, I had to search for exits. The obvious ones came first. The window. I slammed my fists against it. Bullet proof. I cursed.

The bathroom. I opened the door that was once white and was no fading to a dull shade of yellow. Inside there was a shower curtain, a sink with a bathroom cabinet/mirror over it. There was another small window over it with various shampoos on the ledge. I tossed them aside. They plopped noisily in the bathtub. I stood on the edge to reach the small window that was at about neck height.

It was the same as the bedroom window.

"Oh crap..." What else was there to say?

Time to get a little creative. How did people in movies and books escape their prisons? One word popped into my head.

Vent.

I went the main part of the bedroom again. There was a small rectangle over the door. Not nealy big enough to fit a person into. Duh, Layla. This was a house, not an abandoned warehouse. So much for the _Die Hard_ escape. Honestly, why did I even watch that movie if it wasn't doing me any good in a hostage situation? Paulette and her stupid love of action movies.

My eye caught the corner of the room. Camera. Of course. There was only one though. Wait a second... I went into the bathroom. No cameras in there. Hm... Perhaps respecting my privacy would be their faux pas. I looked around the bathroom. There were no obvious escapes. I leaned on the sink and held my head to contain my panic.

What was I thinking trying to escape in the first five minutes of my being here? I was impatient, tired, irritated, and in no shape to run from werewolves anyway. I needed to relax and sleep.

I slowly calmed myself and let exhaustion sweep over me. It was okay. I was fine. No one was going to hurt me, I was just far away from home. I kicked off my shoes, unwilling to go into the armoir and see if I had other clothes. I slipped into the bed, that was decent. A little too hard and umcomfortable, like a hotel bed. It would have to do. I was in no condition to escape like this.

* * *

So yeah! Sorry for the Die Hard bashing. Layla might not like that movie, but I LOVE it. I mean, its like an American Classic. God bless Die Hard and Bruce Willis. 


	23. Her Plans

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. Is it obvious that I've been paying more attention to this story instead of doing my overdue essay? You probably don't know what I mean now, but you will by the end of my chapter. What can I say? I'm a literature major.

* * *

**Jonas:**

I was going to go absolutely insane. I could not stop pacing in the small box shaped building. It was hot, almost sweltering. I wiped the sweat from my forehead again.

"I have to get out of here," I said mostly to myself. Everything inside was a cold metal. The furniture was bolted to the floor. The ground was concrete like the walls. I had no idea how thick they were, but no amount of scratching or ramming was making the walls budge.

"_We cannot leave. They have her. She cannot defend herself_," said the monster from within me.

"Oh good. You're back," I said dryly. In a fit of energy I stood up quickly and tried to pulled the steel table from the floor. It wouldn't budge. I pulled and pulled on it, but it was bolted or welded to the floor. The building was pretty tall. I was locked in one part of it. I had no idea what laid beyond the walls. There were mirrors surrounding the ceiling, next to a shabby version of recently constructed metallic staircases.

"One way mirrors," I realized. "They watch from up there." My chest rose and fell as my breaths became faster. I grabbed the chair again with somehow grown strength and ripped it out of the floor. Concrete dust lifted into the air. Rubble pieces pattered on the ground.

I looked at the chair in amazement. How did I do that?

"_Her only chance is if we comply_," the monster said defeated.

"No! She doesn't deserve this. I don't deserve this!" I raged picking up the chair and throwing it at the one way mirror. It bounced off the tough glass with a loud thud. The chair clanged loudly on the ground.

"Jonas, stop that," said a voice echoing all around me. I looked up. There were speakers in the ceiling.

"Let us go, Gideon. If my father finds out..."

"We're already long gone. Our trail is cold. No one can trace you. I'm sorry," he said. I felt my face twist into a frown.

"You'd think you would learn your lesson the first time. That last Lone Wolf tore your pack to shreds," I threatened.

"I see you've spoken to Michael. There are many differences between you and Sarah. I don't see the same result happening again. You've made quite a mess. You shouldn't ruin your living space," he said.

"I'll do what I want," I said feeling somewhat like a angst filled teenager as they words left me. I looked down at the ground. What were they doing with Layla? Were they treating her okay? Was she scared? Was she angry? I closed my eyes as I ran my hands over my head.

"She's fine. And very comfortable, I might add," said Gideon over the intercom. I wanted to ask if she was angry with me. How was she taking this whole werewolf thing. I gulped down my questions out of pride. "You might as well rest."

"When can I see her?" I asked.

"You'll get your chance," Dr. Gideon said. I exhaled through my nose in frustration. I looked at the toppled over chair in the corner. Energetic rage fueled me. I ran across the room faster than I'd ever had before and clasped the cold steel chair's leg. With all my strength I threw it like a tomahawk into the one way mirror.

There was a pause as the chair came back down with a loud bang, that irritated my sensitive ears. The intercom switched on again.

"Or at least when you start behaving," Dr. Gideon corrected.

* * *

**Layla:**

I awoke to find out that either I still wasn't dreaming, or this was a very long dream. It was well into the afternoon now. The sun was on the west side of the house, as it was coming in directly through my window. The wind was blowing right up on the glass. I slowly slipped out of bed and looked out the window. The red cube of a building was silhouetted in front of the sun.

I squinted to see for any windows or doors. There was a staircase and a platform leading to the other side of the cube. Maybe there was a door there. From my angle there was none I could see. I leaned forward, resting my head against the thick glass. My glasses clacked lightly against it. It was times like these when I was thankful I did have glasses, what would I do if all I had were contacts? Certainly not read.

Back to the situation at hand. How was I going to get out of here? I had to be organized about this. It was just like writing an essay. With that I went to the computer and booted it up. I was actually impressed with the modem. It was faster than my computer back home.

Some people who may have given up might have looked at the games Anthony set up for me. First thing's first. Who was watching me and how? I did not trust anyone here as far as I could throw them. So I checked the Network Connections.

Go to Start.

Go to Control Panel.

Go to Network Connections.

Aha! I smiled to myself. This computer was connected to a router somewhere else in the house. Probably downstairs since most of the rooms upstairs were empty. Dr. Gideon had said he spent a lot of time here, he probably had a computer. Maybe even one with internet, but I wasn't about to get my hopes up. The point was I couldn't make my escape plan on a word format.

I couldn't get organized on the computer. I opened the desk drawer the computer rested on. I shrugged. There was a pen clattering in there somewhere. I had to dig past other supplies (none of them which would be of any use). I got the pen and drew circles on my hand to check for ink.

Excellent. There was enough to write with. I took out the only thing I could think to write on. An address book.

Good enough.

Okay. Here's the way I see if because I'm an English nerd. It's just like writing an essay outline. It took a while, but here's what I came up with:

* * *

**My Plan To Get Out of This Room **

**By: Layla Reigh**

Thesis Statement for the topic paragraph: Five things that I could use to my advantage for my great escape are: the werewolves (Michael, Bridget, and Anthony [not Dr. Gideon), Jonas's Lone Wolf-ness (?), items found in room, brief door openings (when someone needs to take out the trash, replace toilet paper, give me food, etc.), and whenever they take me out of the room to see Jonas.

1. The werewolves:

**A. Talk to them**

I. Convince them to let Jonas and me go.

II. Trick them (how?)

III. Tempt/Bribery/Blackmail

IV. Gain trust

V. Taunt/Annoy them (what will that accomplish? might be fun, find purpose to do this)

**B. Get to know them better**

I. Find some weaknesses

II. Study routines

2. Jonas's Lone Wolfness:

Need more info!!!!

**_Note to self: Pay attention to Dr. Gideon's studies of Lone Wolf_**

3. Items Found in Room:

**A. Furniture**

I. Heavy, blunt (can break windows?)

**B. Look in all the cracks for paperclips, small sharp things to pick locks.** (maybe pen?)

I. Check desk (maybe they missed something)

II. Check under carpet

**_Note to self: Find out how to pick locks_**

4. Brief Door Openings:

**A. Run** (is that really going to work?)

I. Timing (wait for an outside visitor [ie: mailman, trashman, UPS guy to go to for help)

**B. Use that time to study door.**

I. Find weakness in locking mechanism.

II. Put something in door before door closes to keep from locking (and hope no one will notice)

5. Seeing Jonas Outside of Room:

More info needed!

Conclusion: We're screwed.

* * *

I sighed and slumped on the ground. I made a freakin' outline for my escape. How sad was this? I shrugged to myself as I looked it over. There was still too much I knew nothing about. This was going to take more time than I needed. I mean, my parents are oblivious, but they aren't _that_ oblivious. 

And then Paulette and Phoebe were going to come home and find me missing. I'll never know how their modeling thing went.

"What are you doing?"

I couldn't help it. I screamed. Papers went everywhere. I grabbed the address book and slid it beside me. Michael cocked an eyebrow at me. Instead of saying something villainous and taking away my plans he sat down at the edge of my bed. I eyed him warily, careful not to let my guard down.

"I just wanted to apologize for... this," he said.

What kind of a bad guy was he? No captor apologizes. At least not without sarcasm or revealing some evil scheme in a monologue.

"Dr. Gideon's in charge of our pack. Bridget, Anthony, and I have to do what he says," Michael explained. I pretended to look away thoughtfully while shoving the address book under my bed.

"Why?" I inquired.

"Because he's the Alpha. It's a werewolf thing," Michael said. I nodded slowly in understanding. Concern struck me.

"How's Jonas?"

"Angry, anxious. Pretty much the same as he always is," Michael said. I almost smiled. His oversized hand rested on my shoulder. His creepiness had died down just a little. "Look. I know this isn't fair, but don't be too hard on him."

"I don't blame him for anything," I said. Michael raised his brows in mild surprise.

"Why not?"

"I don't know. I haven't really thought about it," I said. "I'm just trying to figure out everything." Michael made a 'hmph' sound as he thought. He stroked his chin once.

"Interesting. You're very different from the last Lone Wolf mate we had," he said.

"The last one?" I said eyes widening. Michael stopped realizing he'd said something wrong. "You've done this before? What happened to the last one?" Michael paused. His mouth opened to form words but he was at a loss of what to say.

"Did he kill them? Am I going to die?" I asked Michael, paling as I said this.

"No, no," he said quickly. "Look. Don't tell Gideon this, but-..."

"The camera," I nodded pointing to the camera in the room.

"Don't worry. It's picture only. No audio," he said. _Good to know._

"All you have to do is survive for four years. By that time I will have inherited the pack and I'll let you and Jonas go," he said.

"I don't have four years! I have to graduate in a year," I said. Michael put a finger to his lips. I guess I'd said that kind of loud.

"I'm just trying to give a little hope," he said.

"Well, apparently, I could die in the time span you've given me," I argued.

"You could die out there in the world too. Just... Never mind. I was just trying to do something nice and make you feel better. It's the least I could do after taking someone hostage. I'll see you around. Don't do anything stupid. Gideon's downstairs," Michael said hastily. He stood up and knocked on the door twice. It opened from the outside, I could see Bridget holding the door open for him. She gave me a sad smile and let Michael pass. Then just like that the door shut again.

I didn't even have time to check the mechanisms in the door or start to recognize the routine for entering or leaving my room.

* * *

There you have it. Another chapter. 


	24. Her Dreams

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. I'm on a roll, but I'm so tired. I don't want to do my homework... So I won't! Here's another chapter instead.

* * *

**Layla:**

Twelve thirty at night and I was tired of being in my room. I walked towards the wardrobe and opened it. There was a white sundress with small yellow flowers all over it. Any other day it would have been hideous. Tonight it was perfect. I slipped into it and then started to shut the door. Then a small flowered hat caught my eye. It was floppy, but quaint. It matched wonderfully.

I put in on my head and admired myself in the mirror for just a second. I rarely cared for how I appeared, but tonight I looked spectacular. Then I went to the bedroom and opened the window with ease. I had no shoes, but there were no shoes required for this kind of night. It was too perfect. I slipped outside barefoot, landing softly somehow from my two story drop. Crickets chirped in the yellow grass, the soft dirt was cool beneath me.

The breeze was light as I crossed over to the awkward building behind the house. There was a door where there wasn't one before. I raised a fist and lightly rapped on it with my knuckles. It didn't take long to be answered. Jonas opened it, looking as wonderful as I did. His hair was tousled and messy like the day we first met, no longer at the precise emo angle it was now. He had a Sunday button up shirt with rolled up sleeves and black slacks. It looked like we were a couple that had just gone to church.

He smiled at me. I moved out of the way to let him pass. He took my hand startling me delightfully. He said something, I couldn't hear him though. I responded with a smile and a nod. It was as though we were on mute. Like a movie montage, all you could do was imagine what we were saying and watch our romance while sweet music played from the heavens.

He raced ahead of me, pulling on my hand to follow him. We jogged laughing and with wide smiles. The sky seemed bigger somehow. The stars were a plenty, much more than there should have been. Bright fireflies danced around us shining on our smiles. Though the horizon was pitch black, the yellow plains were as bright and colorful as though the sun were shining on it.

We stopped jogging to look up and admire the scene around us. Jonas let go of my hand, replacing his hold my waist instead. It was a welcomed touch. I let him pull me closer to his side, shyly looking to the ground. There was a small silhouetted tree on the hill. He led me there. I hurried ahead of him and turned to face him with my back to the trunk. We exchanged playful smiles.

Jonas caught up to me quickly. He took a step too close, our faces just inches apart. Our playful smiles faded. I felt a blush rising up to my cheeks. Jonas's eyes were serious and hard. He touched my chin, which I lifted in response.

We kissed...

* * *

I woke with a gasp sitting up too quickly, which made me dizzy. I looked around. My room... I was still in this room. My eyes closed, they weren't much use for seeing without my glasses. In my blurred haze I thought about my dream. It was pathetic really, like some corny scene from a movie that I could watch over and over. I shook my head of my repetitive thoughts. 

I was so obsessed. I laid back down and put a pillow over my face to muffle my disappointed groan. Why did I have to wake up?

The room was pink with morning glow. It was much too early to be up, especially with no school.

School... If I ever returned I was going to have a buttload of work to make up. I smiled at my own thought. That was ridiculous. Who was to say I was ever going to get to go to school again anyway. If I couldn't go to school what could I do?

What did I want to do today?

"I can do anything I want. As long as its in this room," I said to myself. Oh good, I was talking to myself. It was too early and the thought of making up more escape plans was exhausting. Luckily, I managed pretty fairly when it came to amusing myself. This wasn't my room, it wasn't my house. I could do anything I wanted to it.

So I got up, not bothering to get out of the pajamas I'd fallen asleep in and went to the wall. The pale yellow flowers reminded me of my dress in the dream. Again I tried to shake my too-wonderful dream from my thoughts. It wasn't working. I looked at the aging wallpaper. In the corner beside one of the bookcases there was a tiny tear. I stood on my toes and strained to reach it. I scratched at it with my finger, picking it off. The glue was worn with age so it peeled pretty easily.

The door opened.

"Good morning," said an overly friendly voice. I looked over my shoulder. Anthony came inside the room with a bag of Burger King. "Doc got you a breakfast-sandwich-thingy." He left the bag on my bed. I was still in the position of standing on my toes, hand reaching to small tear in the wallpaper.

"What are you doing?" he asked cocking his head to the side.

"Nothing," I answered quickly putting my hand down. Anthony gave me an odd look, but luckily his attention span was nothing to envy.

"Did you check out the games on your computer?" he asked. I shook my head.

"You should! I got you all the classics. Jedi Knight, Doom, Grand Theft Auto, The Godfather..." he started to count them all on his fingers. Obviously when Anthony was picking out my games he hadn't taken into consideration the fact that I was a girl, not a teenage boy. "Oh! And Unreal Tournament!"

"I think my dad has that game," I said nonchalantly. I reached out for the breakfast bag and peered inside. Perhaps I should have mentioned I was a vegetarian. Oh well, I could eat the bread. I closed the bag rolling up the edges.

"Unreal Tournament is awesome! You know, the computers are hooked up on a router. We could play multiplayer," he said. I remembered my plan. I had to make nice with the werewolves in order to get them to leak information. I guess it would be more productive to work on escaping even if I didn't really feel like it at the moment.

"Sounds like fun," I lied. "Say, you don't know when I'm going to see Jonas. Do you?" Anthony put on the same puzzled look that I got from Dr. Gideon and Michael. Why was it so surprising that I cared about him?

"You sure you want to?"

"Positive," I said. Anthony shrugged.

"You'd have to ask the Doc. Personally, I'm going to make it my life's work to avoid Jonas the rest of my life," he said with a laugh. He paused. "Hey, Layla. I just wanted to let you know I'm sorry that Gideon's gotta do this, um, kidnapping thing. It really sucks."

I nodded to let him know that I understood. He seemed to notice the crack in the wallpaper.

"Redecorating?" he asked. _Sure, let's go with that._

"Yeah. This wall paper is so boring," I said.

"Don't tell Bridget. She's fashion decor extraordinare. First she'll redecorate your room. Then she'll start buying you clothes. I still don't know how she talked me into this pink shirt she got me last weekend. I look like the Kool Aid guy," Anthony said stretching out the dark pink polo shirt. I smiled a little.

"See you at 3:30. Michael, Bridget, and I are starting our new school. Doc wants us to watch you for a while he sets up his new accounts and stuff," he said. I watched Anthony head toward the door. He knocked twice on the door, Bridget opened it to let him in.

"Who was talking about redecorating? Does she want to decorate her room? Because I know I wanted to since..."

"See you after school," Anthony interrupted her chattering before closing the door behind him. Useful information. I had to write it down, before I forgot it. I went to my address book, which was safely tucked under my mattress in the safety of being on the opposite side of the camera's view, and made a new page.

* * *

Werewolves

1. Still going to school, they'll be seen in public. (They come home at 3:30)

2. Oblivious to Dr. Gideon's agenda

Anthony- Video Games, friendly, somewhat remorseful for kidnapping (not as much as Michael)

Bridget- Decorating, fashion queen, girly girl (perhaps a little female bonding?)

Michael- Extreme dislike of Gideon, remorseful for Jonas and me

* * *

That was interesting. I tapped the pen in my hand repeatedly against the frame of my glasses. I tried to wrack my brain for any answers. I got nothing. Just more pieces to an unfinished puzzle. I sighed heavily and listened to the sounds of the younger werewolves carpooling off to school. 

I stuffed my address book away underneath the mattress. Just in time too.

The door opened again. I stiffened at the sight of Dr. Gideon. He smiled weakly.

"Good morning," he greeted. I couldn't think to answer. "Would you like to see Jonas?" I felt something inside me pound that was too hard of a thud to have been my heart. Would I like to see Jonas? What kind of stupid question was that!

I tried to at least appear calm.

"Yes. Could I have a moment?" I asked looking down at my attire. Dr. Gideon almost smiled and shut the door. I leapt off the bed and started to get ready.

* * *

All video games mentioned are some of my favorites, despite me being a girl. Layla's opinions do not reflect my own. (Except when it comes to books or anything literary) 


	25. Her Investigation

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. Um... Yeah, lots of video game responses from my last chapter. I'm so happy this story has attracted fellow gamers. Rock on! Pirates of the Burning Sea comes out January! Woot-woot!

* * *

**Layla:**

I went through the clothes that I'd been provided with. They were pretty extraordinary. Fashionable cuts, stylish print, and a few pieces of what looked like lingerie, but upon further investigation I realized it was just skimpy. I guess Bridget had been the one to do my shopping. I guess all things considered I could have much worst captors. But everything in here looked more like Phoebe and Paulette's clothes.

I settled on a pair of jeans (like always) and a low cut brown t-shirt. I sighed as I looked at myself in the mirror and brushed out my hair.

_Keep an eye out for escape routes, anything that can be used for your advantage_, I reminded myself. But instead I found myself wondering what I was going to do when I saw him. Dr. Gideon rapped on the door. I set my hairbrush aside and went to the door that was held open. I stepped outside with him and we walked down the hallway. The rooms that were once half empty were slowly filling with furniture and posters.

I made a mental map of each room we passed. Dr. Gideon led me out the back door onto the windy plains that was the backyard.

"I wouldn't try to run if I were you," Dr. Gideon said over his shoulder as I scanned the horizon. I snorted.

"I wasn't going to," I mumbled under my breath. We reached the red cube building, then up the staircases outside the building. Each metal step had a metallic groan as we went up. I looked around at the landscape. Everything was completely barren aside from the house and a single one lane road that came to and from the house. The land was completely flat. If I did try to run it would be one long sprint.

Dr. Gideon took out a ring of jangling keys and unlocked the door on the second story of the building. We stepped inside. Stale air came out. The room was small and narrow going long ways from either side like a hallway. But the opposite wall was a window.

Dr. Gideon didn't turn any light. He walked over to the right side and looked down. I followed his gaze. Jonas was sitting on a thick metal chair in the center of the room beside and matching metallic table. He wore a robe and not much else. His hair was ruffled. Sweat glistened off the parts of his skin I could see. He was tapping his fingertips anxiously on the arm of his chair, his knee bounced continuously.

His nostrils flared. He looked up, almost directly at me. This startled me. I'd never him like this. I've never seen _anyone _like this.

"Is he okay?" I asked Gideon.

"He's anxious. Annoyed," the doctor replied. "It must be frustrating to be this helpless."

"Oh..." was all I could think of to say. Dr. Gideon nodded to a button in the wall.

"You could speak to him through the intercom," he said.

"I can't go in there?" I asked. Dr. Gideon shook his head.

"If I let you anywhere near him, he might not give you back," he said. I frowned. Give me back? He was letting Jonas talk to another person, not letting him borrow a pencil in class. "You can talk to him."

"I want to talk to him alone," I said. Dr. Gideon shrugged apologetically.

"I'm sorry. I have to monitor the conversation," he said.

"I just want to talk to him personally. I'm not going to do anything," I tried to argue.

"The answer is no," Dr. Gideon said raising his voice. "I think I have given you plenty of liberties and luxuries so far. This is not going to be one of them." I crossed my arms across my chest and ground my teeth in irritation.

"If you wish I could take you back to your room," Gideon threatened passively. I rolled my eyes and stomped over to the intercom button.

"Jonas, its Layla. Gideon's eavesdropping on the conversation," I said. Jonas perked and stood up.

* * *

**Jonas:**

She spoke over the intercom and while I couldn't see her anywhere her scent told me she was close. Behind the one way mirror, I realized. I stood up making sure the robe I wore (I didn't exactly have any clothes for the occasion of being abducted) was closed all the way. Werewolves may not mind about clothing, but humans tended to be a little more fussy about keeping your jewels in the safe.

"Layla..." Where did I begin? "I am _so_ sorry."

"You shouldn't be sorry. Gideon here on the other hand..." I smiled as there was a pause. I could imagine the exchange up there behind the one way mirror. "Anyway, don't worry about me."

"I _am_ worried about you," I said. Don't worry about her? That was the most ridiculous thing I'd ever heard! I hadn't stopped worrying about her since the first day we met. "This is all my fault."

"Jonas, don't say that. It's not," she said.

"I should have said something," I said hanging my head.

"What? Like tell me you're a werewolf?" she laughed.

"No," I said. "But I could have told you how I felt. I had the perfect opportunity so many times. But my family and Katrina and Tommy... There were so many complications. I could have done something terrible to people if I lost control."

There was a pause. I looked up hopefully.

"Will he let me see you?" I asked.

"Gideon thinks if I get anywhere near you that you wouldn't give me back," Layla said. Gideon was maniac, but he was no fool. Had I been able to see her I would guard her, I would pummel anything that tried to take her away. I probably would end up killing Gideon and the others, and that was starting to sound more and more appealing.

"Gideon, what exactly are you using us for? Just research?" I asked. There was a pause. Layla's voice was replaced by Gideon's over the intercom.

"Research purposes. Perhaps if we learned how to contain you we could help other people with your problem," Gideon said.

"I was doing just fine with my problem until you stepped in," I said narrowing my gaze.

"Only because you were given the best circumstances. Layla doesn't reject you. She hasn't been courted by anyone else in the time you've had. When Michael and the other pups stepped in you weren't fairing so well," Gideon pointed out. I clenched my jaw at the thought of Michael leaving kills on Layla's front porch and frightening her.

"I could have handled it," I said unsure if I was telling the truth of not.

"Could you have?" Dr. Gideon retorted. I blinked a few times as I thought of what I could have done. Maybe I should be locked away like this. But there was no reason for Layla to be here.

"You don't need Layla. Let her go home. I'll do whatever tests you want. I'll... I'll help you with your research. Whatever you need," I said quickly.

"I can't do that. You won't reach your potential without her as incentive. Like I said, don't worry about her. She is perfectly healthy and comfortable," Gideon said. My fists clenched by my side. I paced back and forth by the thick steel table. My mind was racing for options. "The tests will start tomorrow."

* * *

**Layla:**

The tests will start tomorrow. What tests? What exactly were they going to do to him? To me? I had thoughts of mazes and electric shocks. With nothing left to say Gideon opened the door that led outside. He made an after-you gesture. I followed in front of him trying to make sense of everything in my head. Dr. Gideon followed behind me as we decended into the flowing plains, back towards the house.

It only then just occurred to me that I was missing my chance to say anything to Jonas. What did I want to ask him? That couldn't be all I wanted to talk to him about.

"What is it, Layla?" Dr. Gideon asked sounding more annoyed than intrigued. I opened my mouth to respond, but couldn't find the answer I wanted to give.

"Is there ever going to be a time I can talk to Jonas alone?" I finally asked. Dr. Gideon gave me a look.

"It would be counter productive. To know a Lone Wolf, you have to know his mate. I would have to monitor that conversation," he said.

"He's not a subject for some science experiment. He's a person. Couldn't we just talk alone for... five minutes?" I asked. Dr. Gideon blinked at me in silence. He was intrigued by something. Suddenly his mood swayed to charming. He put on a smile and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Layla, I'd like to ask you some questions inside if you don't mind," he said. I was instantly suspicious.

"You want to interview me?" I restated. He thought for a moment.

"Think of it as a civil conversation," he said. When we got inside Gideon rushed around the house and put a recorder on the kitchen table. He motioned for me to sit down while he made a light lunch. It wasn't much, he just threw together a sandwhich. Maybe he wanted it to feel like a nice conversation, however the blinking light on the recorder reminded me that this was indeed an interview.

Gideon handed me a sandwhich on a nice grandma-decor plate that matched the feel of the rest of the house. The kitchen was decorated the same. The refrigerator was a stale yellow. The green wallpaper had faded to nearly the same color and there was the aged crochet curtains on the window. Dated and cracked linolium on the floor. The only odd thing I could find was that there was no phone on the wall. Or anywhere for that matter.

Figures.

The furniture must have been stolen from some diner in the fifties, I decided. The rounded rim chairs and table were a mismatched set.

It made me a little angry that Gideon was trying to pass this off as an everyday event. Like I was having brunch with my uncle or something. But as he was preparing a glass of juice for himself and me I got the best idea for revenge. I could flip flop this interview to gather more information.

"This is a nice house, by the way," I said surprising him just slightly that I was the one that started the conversation. He may even have been a little suspicious. Either way, he answered me.

"Thank you," he said.

"Did you buy it? Must have been kind of expensive what with the renovations and stuff," I said. Gideon sat down while handing me a glass.

"It wasn't mine," he said. This answer surprised me. "It's a friend's. She's letting me use it." Interesting. _Very_ interesting.

"Oh. Does she know what you're-...?"

"Layla, if you keep bombarding me with questions how am I supposed to ask you anything?" he said as light heartedly as he could manage while trying to contain his annoyance with me. I closed my mouth. "Now... When did you and Jonas first meet?"

I sighed. "At school."

"Mmm... How?" Gideon said taking a bite of his sandwhich and taking out a notepad. I told him unenthusiastically of our little run-in when I was in the office and he was in the nurse's office with a headache. "And then you left?"

"Well, I did. Then Jonas caught up to me and asked me if I wanted to ditch. So we did," I said.

"Did you get caught?"

"Almost, we outran the supervisor. He helped me jump a fence..." I said almost smiling. I thought of the memory as romantic. Come on, two teenage delinquents? It was pretty cute. "Can I ask a question?" Dr. Gideon stopped writing, glancing up annoyed.

"Sure," he answered.

"What happened to the last Lone Wolf's mate?" Dr. Gideon looked away instantly. Just like I feared. Something terrible must have happened to them.

"I can't answer that," he said looking up again. He quickly changed the subject. "And in the time you and Jonas knew each other, did he ever do anything strange?" My brow furrowed.

"Like what?" I asked hesitantly.

"Did he ever show any possesive behavior?" he rephrased. I thought on that. I remembered him getting into fights. Both times he did I happened to be present. "Did he ever... display affection in a strange way?"

"What?" I burst, the word was caught sharply in my throat. "Jonas would never do anything inappropriate. I had to play the cheap, 'I'm cold' trick just to get him to put his arm around me."

Dr. Gideon sat back in his chair and thought for a moment.

"Did you ever find dead animals in your front yard?" he asked. My face paled. The my vegetarian's stomach churned.

"Yes... Twice," I said slowly.

"Only twice?" Gideon asked.

"Yes, why? Was that Jonas?" I asked appalled. Dr. Gideon shook his head.

"No. If it only happened twice it was just Michael trying to provoke Jonas," he said. Again I felt my brows knit together in concern. Two animals dead because of me. Great, now I was never going to get to sleep tonight.

"Why was Michael leaving dead animals in my front yard?" I said my voice getting higher as my heart sped up.

"That bothers you?" Gideon asked.

"Yes! It's a tad bit creepy," I said fidgeting uncomfortably.

"_Now_ you're getting creeped out?" Dr. Gideon said chuckling a little bit.

"No, I've been creeped out since the day I met Michael and the others. Pretty much, ever since you and them came into the picture," I said raising my voice.

"Funny, because usually when a Lone Wolf imprints they tend to give off an uncomfortable stalking vibe. He should be the one creeping you out," Dr. Gideon said.

"Jonas never creeped me out," I said narrowing my eyes at him.

"He's a smart, dedicated boy. Do you understand the amount of work he went through just to avoid you?" Dr. Gideon asked. I started to say something, then I closed my mouth again. "Lone Wolves are dangerous. They often end up killing their mate, their pack mates, and any other poor innocent who happened to cross his path. He's dangerous and yet..."

He paused tapping his pen on the table top. He bit his lip in thought while looking at me. Like he was studying me.

"And yet you seem equally devoted to him," Gideon finally finished. "Why is that?"

I thought about that question. Why was I so obsessed with him?

"I... don't know," I answered slowly.

Again Dr. Gideon tapped his pen while looking at me with the same peculiar thoughtful look. I looked away, trying to break from the uncomfortable silence.

"Hey," I said. "It's my turn for another question."

Dr. Gideon straightened in his chair again, readjusting himself.

"If you must..."

"Where are you getting all the money for all this?" I asked him. He cocked an eyebrow. "You don't work, at least as far as I know, you've renovated this dinky little cutesy house, the barn is locked up so tight that Jonas couldn't break in or out if he wanted to, and you're supporting me, Jonas, and the other werewolves." Dr. Gideon raised his brows intrigued.

"If you must know, I'm gathering the information for this research for someone else," Dr. Gideon said.

"Someone's paying you to kidnap me, risk your lives by handling Jonas, and for your living up here with three kids rent free?" I said skeptically. There was prolonged silence between us. It seemed that Gideon was getting suspicious of me, wondering just how curious I was.

"You have a lot of questions," Dr. Gideon said.

"And you have very little answers," I retorted. I smirked smugly.

"You're one very spoiled hostage, you know that?" he said standing up and putting his plate away. He looked at my plate with my untouched sandwhich. "Not a fan of ham and cheese?" I shook my head.

"Vegetarian," I said. Dr. Gideon smiled wide, frightening me with such a sudden positive gesture.

"I love irony," he grumbled.

"Tell me more about Lone Wolves," I said pushing my plate away. Dr. Gideon took my plate and saved the sandwhich in a plastic bag.

"They're very powerful," Dr. Gideon said with a hint of a sparkle in his eye. It was a familiar sparkle, like a teacher teaching his favorite subject, or a lawyer presented with the perfect evidence. "They're willful, slightly psychotic, and possessive."

"So when you said if I saw Jonas, he wouldn't give me back..."

"I meant it quite literally," Dr. Gideon said. I thought on that. Well, when you put it that way it did sound pretty creepy. But in Jonas's defense, Dr. Gideon had already taken me with no intent on giving me back.

"Psychology is facinating," I said, half-faking my enthusiasm. Psychology was pretty interesting, however it was not my passion. Not like Gideon's.

"Isn't it?" Dr. Gideon said. His eyes were absolutely dazzling with interest. Passions make people sloppy. They make you willing to inform, to share your knowledge. I know this for a fact. For instance if you came up to me and told me you thought the Enlightenment Era was history's finest literature, I would babble on about Romanticism for hours. That sparkle is what makes a nerd a nerd.

"This Lone Wolf thing, you think it's hereditary?" I asked innocently. My question wasn't directed toward any of my own suspicions. I was just feeding his interest.

"Almost certainly," Dr. Gideon said.

Then he froze in place like he just realized he'd made a huge mistake. He paused and looked at me with furrowed brows. I kept my smile firmly in place with the innocent eyes of a student willing to learn. Somehow he seemed to catch me in the act. I saw him looking away as if searching his mind to replay what he'd told me.

"Go on," I encouraged.

Dr. Gideon went to the refrigerator and took something out of the fruit bin. He walked over to me and planted it in my hand.

"That is the only vegetarian meal we have. I think its time you got back to your room," he said. With that I was returned to my prison.

* * *

Its a little bit of a filler, I've got a bunch of ideas up in the air still. I just turned in my essay and my teacher assigned another essay! Freakin' A! No rest for the weary, but that just means more procrastinating, which in turn means more chapters. 


	26. Her Threat

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. (Alternative points of view will be coming up soon to tie the story together.)

* * *

**Layla:**

I'd slept well into the afternoon. I was dead tired. The stress of the situation was finally starting to take a toll on me. And who was to stop me from sleeping in? No one, that's who. So I turned over on my other side and dozed. My eyes closed slowly and my bed was starting to become comfortable again.

Suddenly there was a loud bark from downstairs. I jerked awake startled out of my warm comfort. The barks were multiple now. There were vicious roars reverberating from the first floor.

"Michael! Stop it!" Bridget cried. I leaned over my bed at the floor as though staring long enough would give me the power to see through things and see what the commotion was about. The ferocious sounds were getting louder and louder. Anthony and Bridget were crying out incoherently muffled by the walls inbetween us and the sound of crashing into the house's lamps, tables, whatever was crashing downstairs.

Then there was a tell tale yip of pain, like someone had just kicked an abused dog. The fight had ended.

"This was not my request!" Dr. Gideon shouted. His voice was surprisingly booming for such a composed man.

"Yeah, but you're the one making me do it!" Michael retorted. "It's one thing to take care of a pack financially! It's another to put them in mortal danger!"

"I have done this before. I know how strong the restraints are. There is no danger!" Dr. Gideon argued.

"Yeah! Like there was no danger last time!" There was a pause in the argument. Someone had hit a soft spot. I wondered if the silence was one strangling the other.

"I have learned from my mistakes. Now you will do what I say! I am the Alpha of this pack!" Gideon said. There was another pause. The next noise I could overhear was the front door slamming hard enough to shake the frame of the house.

* * *

**Jonas:**

Back and forth.

Back and forth.

There was nothing to do, but pace back and forth. I was absolutely positive I was going to go crazy and kill everyone, not because of Layla, but out of sheer boredom. The lights were glaring from above me. They always were. The harsh florescent bulb's buzzing was starting to get so annoying that I thought my ear drums were going to explode. What was there for me to do exactly?

Nothing. Nothing at all. It was like being permanently grounded in a room with none of your stuff. I anxiously fidgeted with the knot around my waist.

I wore the robe that I'd been given. I was getting tired of taking small naps. I was getting tired of wondering who was watching me behind that mirror. I was tired of worrying what kind of place they had Layla in. Hopefully someplace nicer than this. I paced around the table dead center in my concrete room that seemed always hot and cold at the same time. Like a fever. Hot because of the stuffiness, cold because the concrete was freezing underneath my bare feet

"Hey Jonas?" the voice came over the intercom. I looked up at the one way mirror as though I could see someone other than myself. "It's Michael."

"What do you want?" I asked irritated.

"I just wanted to let you know that Gideon's taking good care of her. He's not lying about anything he's said." I slumped in the only chair in the room, hands in the robe's oversized pockets. I exhaled heavily.

"Yeah, I know," I grumbled.

"Also," Michael continued. "I'll take care of Layla." I felt myself frown. There was something off in his tone that made clouded his intentions. I looked up at the mirrors I was being watched from.

"What do you mean?" I demanded.

"I mean, that I can get her anything she needs. You know, since you can't," he said.

"What are you getting at?"

"I'm saying she might need someone who doesn't come with baggage. You get what I'm saying?" Michael said. Something inside me tore at the walls, presuming his innuendo. Then I thought about it for a moment. It was jealousy. I was being provoked just like when he was leaving kills on his porch. My raging monster was temporarily soothed as realization hit me.

"Oh, I get it. You're trying to make me jealous," I said smiling for the first time in days. I chuckled. "Poor guy. Gideon's making you risk your life by having you taunt me. We both know that given half the chance I could rip you to little bite size pieces when I'm pissed."

"I'm not worried about that," Michael said.

"You should be," I said smiling wide.

"You think I'm bluffing?" Michael asked.

"I know you're bluffing. Lucky for you I can control myself enough to let this idle threat slide. I spare your life," I said confidently. If I'd had a tail that second it would be wagging.

"Well, let's just see if I can woo her. It shouldn't be too hard. If she could fall for you she could most certainly fall for me. Maybe after seeing you for the animal you are, she'll be in desperate need for comfort," Michael scoffed.

I narrowed my eyes in the direction I assumed he was in. "Maybe I could threaten her. Or even you. She seems to care an awful lot for your safety. After all, she is in a very compromised position. Also I could probably get her to do _anything_ for a phone call, an email, the little bits of information she seems to be so eager to get. Maybe if we just didn't feed her for a while..."

That got my blood boiling. To know that Michael would do anything to get a rise out of me. Even if it meant doing something terrible to Layla. I couldn't be there to protect her.

"You must have a death wish," I said. "I can't be responsible for my actions if I tear out your throat once I find a weak link in this prison."

"I'm confident if you could have gotten out you would have already," Michael said. "And what would Gideon do if I did do anything to Layla? Nothing. He might even applaud my efforts for pushing your limits. It makes wonderful research."

"YOU TOUCH HER, YOU DIE!" I barked. Suddenly my hands were shaking. My whole body quivered, unable to vent itself of its overwhelming urge to eliminate the threat. There was a slight pause after my outburst. Sweat was dripping down my face, faster than I could wipe it off. It took everything I had in me to keep me from going through the Change and charging uselessly at the walls I already knew I couldn't get through.

"Control yourself, Jonas. You're going to give yourself a heart attack one day. And just think, if I'm what Layla wants you won't be able to control yourself. You won't just kill me. You'll kill her too. And what will happen after that? You'll feel bad, imprint on another poor innocent girl, kill her too, and repeat the cycle." I grabbed the metal chair and threw it at the one way mirror. It bounced off uselessly.

"I'll kill YOU, Michael! I will kill you!" I promised. There was no response. The animal inside me was no longer coherent. It was just raging and roaring. I knew if I ever was allowed to see him, I would not hesitate to kill him. I would tear his throat right out of his neck. I didn't care what it would take to stop his beating heart.

My rage turned down a notch. I was angry. I couldn't be homicidal, no matter how I was provoked.

"_If they violate her at all..._," the voice in my head said.

"They won't. They aren't heartless. Gideon told Michael to do say that. They wouldn't do anything," I responded in a whisper, hoping no one was listening to me talk to myself.

"_And if they do_?"

"They won't."

"_But if they do.._."

"They won't!" I shouted. My big empty room echoed with my own voice. I hoped to God they wouldn't make me do anything I would regret. For Layla's sake and my own.

* * *

**Tommy:**

Jonas's disappearance was doing no good for anyone. It'd been three days since he and Layla had been gone. He left no tracks. Layla was nowhere to be found. Katrina and I had failed as bodyguards. School started again and our group at the "Freak Seats" had now boiled down to Katrina and I. She crossed the quad to join me while I fidgeted with the keyrings on Katrina's backpack. She sat down next to me.

"Hey," I said, sounding more bummed than usual.

"I've got bad news," Katrina said clapping her cell phone shut. I rolled my eyes and scoffed. Was there any other kind of news?" I talked to my mom. The word is that the pack would like to speak with us. Without Mark present," Katrina said.

"Us? Without the Alpha? Why?" I asked her. Katrina shrugged staring across the grass. Her eyes narrowed.

"It always smells like french fries out here," she said wrinkling her nose. I looked up.

"That's because there's a McDonald's right down the street. Katrina, babe, can we focus on one thing at a time?" I asked her. Katrina shook her head of other thoughts.

"Sorry. I think I zoned out there, um, Jonas's dad made a BIG mistake last night on their run. Some hunter almost shot my mom, thinking she was a bear. Mr. Carter got sloppy leading us into a place he knew was dangerous. They think Jonas's dad is taking a turn for the worst from this whole thing. He's distracted. At a time when Layla is missing we can't have people getting suspicious. There's talk of a new Alpha," Katrina said. She took my hand and squeezed it tight.

"What's that got to do with us?"

"Tommy, you're the only other person in the pack with Alpha training. You're supposed to be the one to take Carter's place," Katrina said. My eyes tripled in size.

"What?!" I hissed under my breath. I looked around wildly. This could not be happening. This was_ not_ happening. "I can't do that! I can't pay the pack's bills, I can't run the clubs, I can't even keep track of the one person we were supposed to be watching! Kat, I'm not even out of high school!" Katrina started to look annoyed in the middle of my rant. She clapped her hand over my mouth.

"Calm. Down," she commanded. My shoulders immediately slumped. My breathing slowed. She removed her hand. "What happened was not our fault. The Gideons did something to Jonas that made him flip a switch. You heard what Carter's sister said about Lone Wolves. We're lucky enough to contain him as long as did." Katrina, the hardcore bitch that she was, had a way with making me relax. That's why I loved her. She always knew exactly what to say.

"Thomas Carle and Katrina Williams, please come to the office," came a voice over the intercom. Katrina and I exchanged looks.

"What's going on?" she asked. I shrugged. Whatever it was, it probably was more bad news because that's just the kind of week its been. We exchanged glances and gathered our backpacks.

* * *

FYI: I am going to be writing a sequel(ish) story to this. Anyone interested? It may not happen for awhile because it requires an ending for this story first, but it's already in the works. Any comments? Suggestions? 


	27. Her Sister

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. I got some great reviews. Kudos to you guys. Remember Kudos, the granola bar thing? Kudos are good...

I am politically nuetral. My personal beliefs are not reflected in this chapter.

* * *

**Tommy:**

The police were waiting for us up at the office. I'd never been questioned by the police before, and neither had Katrina. Neither of us knew how to answer. Our stories could easily differ from one another if we were both trying to cover up the fact that we were werewolves. So when the police had come to the office to pick us up, Katrina sat in the back with me.

"You're not going to tell them anything," I whispered. "I'll give the story."

"What am I going to do? Plead the fifth?" she said.

"Just... I don't know. If they talk about Layla's disappearance just talk about how they're only making a big deal about her because she's a rich white girl," I said. Katrina frowned.

"She's not rich and you want me to play the dramatic liberal card?" she said.

"Yes," I said with the authority needed to persuade her. She crossed her arms and sighed dramatically.

"Fine," she said. We weren't arrested or anything dramatic like that. We were just led into separate interrogation rooms. I knew that we weren't in trouble. I knew there wasn't anything to worry about. What I was most worried about was saying something stupid that would raise suspicion about the pack.

One police man opened the door to the interrogation room. There was a detective on the opposite side of the table in the center of the room. The police man glared the way he probably glared at all suspicious characters. Dressed in black with a punk hair cut I looked like some sort of criminal, however, this look was not chosen by me. It was Carter pack standard to keep people from prying into our lives.

"Hello Thomas," said the man opposite of me. I sat down. "I'm Detective Larson."

"Hi," I said gruffly. "I didn't do anything. Doesn't this go against my rights or something?"

"You came of your own free will," he said.

"Yeah, because if I didn't you would think I did something. What's this about?"

"You live with Jonas Carter, yes?" This piqued my interested. Jonas was not the name I was expecting to hear about.

"Yes," I said simply.

"And he's gone missing?" the detective said.

"I don't know. There's a lot of people in the house. It's kind of hard to keep track of them," I said, silently applauding myself. No definite answers. That's good.

"I'm surprised you don't know about this. Mr. Carter is very worried about his son. I thought he would tell your entire commune about his missing son," he said. Again, I was shocked. Jonas's dad had been the one to report him missing. He'd gone to humans for help. That was a big no-no, and a hugely irresponsible move from someone as important as an Alpha. Our goal was to remain inconspicuous.

"I haven't seen him around..."

"Kids at school say you hang around Jonas an awful lot," Larson said.

"Only at school," I said feeling my heart beat speed up. Exactly what was this guy getting at? "What? I'm not in charge of the guy. It's not my job to keep tabs on him." That was a HUGE lie. I hoped it didn't reflect on my face.

"Do you know this girl?" the detective said. He pushed Layla's picture toward me. "She was seen with you a few days ago."

"That's Layla. She's a loner, we let her sit at our table the other day," I said. "It was mostly out of charity." Also, it was probably the stupidest mistake I'd ever made. I shouldn't have allowed her to be there. She attracted the Gideons who in turn attracted trouble with Jonas.

"The day of the fight," the detective said.

"Yeah. Some jerks were messing with us," I said in a very angsty teenage tone.

"What was the fight about?"

"Something stupid," I said avoiding the real answer. "We never liked them."

"Uh-huh. Do you know Layla's sisters?" he asked. He pushed to identical pictures of blonde, contact wearing versions of Layla.

"Not personally," I responded quickly.

"Well, they're missing too. Do you know of anywhere the four of them might have gone?" Detective Larson asked. Her sisters were missing too? I slowly shook my head. Detective Larson stood up.

"Okay. Thank you for your time," he said. I watched as he headed toward the door. The policeman outside held it open for him.

"That's it?"

"Yes. We're talking to everyone from your house. It's nothing to worry about though," he said. The door opened allowing the sound of a shrieking female to flow into the room. I looked around the corner as another detective was holding the door open, speaking to the policeman that looked for like a security guard.

"-AND WHAT ABOUT THE CHILDREN IN DOWNTOWN REDFORD! ARE THEY NOT IMPORTANT ENOUGH BECAUSE THEY'RE LOWER CLASS? DO YOU ASK THEIR PARENTS IF ANY OF THEM ARE MISSING? WHAT ABOUT THE IMMIGRANTS' CHILDREN WHO ARE TOO AFRAID TO GO FOR HELP BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE DEPORTED? HOW ABOUT YOU START WORRYING ABOUT THOSE MISSING PERSONS, YOU PIGS!" I smiled to myself as three policemen went to go contain Katrina who was standing on top of the table in her own interrogation room. I smiled to myself.

Detective Larson sighed.

"Oh boy," he said.

"Miss, please get off the table!"

"NOT UNTIL OUT TROOPS COME HOME FROM IRAQ!" I shook my head. She was taking this a little far, but you have to love a girl who knows her current events.

"Oh, by the way, we're having a little trouble locating Ms. Marille Carter. She went away on business. You know where?" the detective said. The police started threatening to use tear gas on Katrina. She saw they were down interviewing me and gave the slightest triumphant smile. She held her hands up in defeat and started to step down.

"Marille? I don't know. She doesn't live at our house," I said. The detective gave a satisfied nod.

"Thank you for your cooperation," he said and headed back to his desk. Katrina caught up with me.

"Did you have to overdo it?" I asked her. She nudged me with her elbow.

"Oh, don't pretend like you didn't like seeing me freak out a bunch of cops," she teased. We walked down the lobby and out the front doors. "How'd it go?"

"Not just Layla's missing. Her sisters are too. Also, Mr. Carter's gone to the police to report that Jonas has been missing," I told her. Katrina's eyes widened.

"What? Is he insane?" she whispered harshly.

"Don't say anything to your parents. I don't need that promotion to Alpha any sooner," I instructed.

"Yes sir," she teased. I turned to glare at her. "They asked me about Marille and it got me thinking, where has she been? I haven't seen or smelled her in days. I'm starting to miss the scent of McDonald's french fries. That lady's obsessed."

"How do you figure?" I asked distractedly while I texted my father for a ride home since my car was still at school.

"Its always McDonald's. There's only one McDonald's nearby. The one by the school," Katrina said. I glanced at her.

"That is kind of weird," I said with a shrug.

"You don't think she's disappeared for the same reason the others have, do you?" Katrina asked. I turned to look at her. She was chewing her lip thoughtfully. "Jonas has never been very fond of her."

"He wouldn't do anything to his aunt," I said.

"I know," she said defensively.

"So what? She bailed without telling anyone. It's not like she's never mysteriously up and left before," I grumbled. Katrina nodded in agreement. We stood in silence for a moment, only to be interrupted by my stomach. Katrina glanced at me and cocked an eyebrow. "Great. Now I have a craving for McDonald's."

* * *

**Layla:**

There was a difference in the air. Something was wrong. It's that feeling that makes animals run for shelter before a storm. Even the sky above the plains seem to be darker. What was once a light blue, quickly went through the cycle from pink, to purple, to dark blue, then the blackness of night. Despite it being tense, I was still bored. Bored and anxious is not a good combination.

I was having a harder time than usual entertaining myself. Bridget had been the one to pick out my books. There was Jane Austen galore, Edgar Allen Poe, Emerson, and so much more. I remembered that only Jonas knew my true taste in books. The thought of never reading another romance that was simultaneously filled with gore and sexual tension was horrible. I spent the day struggling to get through The Scarlet Letter, but it was just getting me depressed.

I know. Its supposed to be depressing. But perhaps it was a little too close for comfort. A woman who fell in love with a man she was no supposed to fall in love with and becoming pregnant, and therefore a blasphemer to be outcasted while her lover bared the guilt of getting her in this situation to begin with.

Poor Hester. Her kid was a brat too.

I tossed the book aside.

"I'm going to lose my freakin' mind," I told no one.

I felt the slightest rush of fresh air. I glanced up. The door had been opened. Michael came into the room, hands stuffed in his pockets.

"I didn't hear you come in. That's a quiet door," I said. Michael smiled.

"I suppose," he said quietly. He sat down on the edge of my bed and looked at the book I'd thrown aside. "That bad?"

"Yeah, a little. The parts where I'm not bored, I'm just mad at her stupid husband and the author displaying him as sheer evil who wants to torture that guy. There's no such thing as evil," I ranted sitting up. Michael cocked an eyebrow interested.

"That's an interesting theory," he said.

"Look at it this way, no one just has this innate ambition to cause chaos. Paradise Lost shows the devil's side of the story, the bad guy's in Batman are insane, that's psychological. There is no Dr. Evil cackling in a swiveling chair who wants to destroy the world for no apparent reason," I said. Michael's blue eyes focused on me, interested.

"And Gideon?"

"Aside from the fact that he's a psychology nerd gone extremist, he does have the intention to help other Lone Wolves. Also he's doing it for the money. He's got himself and three little, and I use that adjective loosely, werewolves to take care of," I said.

"He told you that?" Michael said surprised.

"Yeah. Why? Was he lying?"

"No its just I never thought he would go and share that information with the person he's holding against their will," Michael said. I smiled, proud of the fact that I might have manipulated the information from him. Michael looked at me, his eyes softening though his lips gave a contrary grin. "So, what about me? Am I evil?"

"Of course not!" I gasped. "You're very creepy. But you're not evil. You have to do what Gideon says. It's his mistake that he thinks the people he should be treating as a family are his personal minions." Michael's expression softened. He reached forward and put his warm hand over mine.

"Thank you. And by the way, at the end you'll see Hester's husband, Chillingsworth, isn't evil. He's just jealous. You'll see at the end he's remorseful for what he did," he said. This surprised me.

"My mom was an English teacher," he explained.

"Oh..."

His hand lingered over mine for another awkward moment. I slipped out my hands from beneath his and stuffed them securely in my lap.

"I'm bored out of my skull," I said hoping to change the subject.

"Yes, it seems you've used all today's brain power to make philosophical discoveries about the world," he joked making me giggle. "Hey, I got an idea." I perked excitedly. Finally! Something to do!

"What?"

"Let's go for a walk. There's no city lights. You won't believe how many stars are out there," he said. An image flashed in my mind of Jonas and I walking out there on the tall yellow glass looking at the moon. Our holding hands and kiss. Michael in the picture ruined that whole scenario.

However, I was extremely bored.

"Sure. Why not?" I said unenthusiastically. The door opened and Bridget stuck her head in. Michael had to look over his shoulder at her.

"You going clubbing or what?" Bridget asked. She hardly noticed me. "It's getting late. Hi Layla."

"Hello Bridget," I responded dryly.

"I thought that was tomorrow," Michael responded ignoring my presence.

"No! Get dressed! There's not going to be another under twenty-one night for the rest of the year. It's now or never!" she said beaming a bright smile.

"I'm kind of in the middle of something..." he started flicking his head toward me. _Uh oh._ In the middle of something? I didn't like the sound of that. No one passes up an opportunity to hang out with their friends to go for a walk with someone who was practically a stranger. Something in my head triggered the panic button. Get out! Get out!

"No, no. Don't miss out on my account," I said hastily.

"No, Layla. You've been locked up in a room all day, you should move around," he urged.

"I... have that treadmill in my room," I said weakly. To be honest, I folded that thing away the first day I was brought here. It was taking up nearly half the room and I sure as hell wasn't going to use it. Michael gave me a disbelieving look. I hopped off my bed and shooed him away.

"Go on. Have fun. We have plenty of time to go for a walk later," I said.

"Yeah, it's not like she won't be here when we get back," Bridget backed me up. _I wish._ I nodded trying to look enthusiastic.

"Go. Tell me all about it tomorrow," I said. The werewolves left out the door. My hand clasped onto the handle holding it open for them. I gasped as suddenly I realized that I was holding the door open. Sheer instinct nearly made me_ shut_ the door. Luckily I stopped. The door was just inches from closed. But it wasn't closed. It was hovering over being closed.

I could still hear Bridget and Michael outside in the hallway. I swallowed hard.

I was holding the door OPEN. Suddenly I had this fear that the handle was going to slip out of my grip. I tightened my hold.

_For the love of God, hold it! Wait for someone to say something!_ My instincts were screaming.

No one said anything. I glanced up at the camera. I was just out of its peripheral vision. To them it must look like I was standing there with my back to them. My heart sped up, adrenaline poured into my blood. I was almost shaking with the restraint to keep from bolting out the door where I could never outrun my captors.

This was the weak link in my prison. The quiet door. They couldn't hear the click anymore than I could. I couldn't just stand there. Whoever may be watching me on the monitor was going to be suspicious sooner or later. I couldn't run either. I could hear Bridget yelling at Anthony just doors away to get ready.

Run.

Don't run.

Run.

Don't run.

_Don't run._

It was painful, but I knew I couldn't run. They would catch me, fix the flaw in the system, and it would be back to the drawing board. I had to close the door. I closed my eyes and took a breath. I slowly and gently let the door close on its own, taking in one last glance of freedom.

Someday, not today.

It was closed. I tugged on the handle again. It was locked.

I clenched my jaw. With a grunt of frustration I hit the wall with my fist.

* * *

**Paulette:**

We got the job. I couldn't believe we got the modeling job! Phoebe and I had to overstay our audition in Chicago for the later auditions. Tonight was our last night in Illinois. Tomorrow we would go home, apologize to our parents, get grounded, then tell them we got the job. It was that simple. The papers were signed and the T's were crossed.

We were officially hired.

Charlie and Joseph had disappeared in the thumping crowd once we got in the club. Phoebe (the genius) had packed plenty of skirts for our trip to the windy city. Don't get me wrong, I love my sister and she is my best friend. But she is the poster child for dumb blondes. She took my hand smiling and pulled me through the crowd.

"Look at all the guys!" she shouted over the thumping base.

"Your boyfriend is here, you know," I replied taking off my jacket to reveal my glittering halter top.

"I don't see him anywhere. He has no claim," Phoebe said swinging her purse onto her shoulder. She turned around and handed me our cell phone. That's right. We're together so often and have the same exact friends so my mom thought, why waste money on two phones. Not like Layla who got her own phone because she was _never_ with us.

That was why our fans were going to think that Phoebe and I were twins, not triplets. That was our way into the modeling gig.

"You hold the phone. I'm going to get a locker to put my purse in." she said.

"Why me?" I whined.

"Because you have pockets."

"Because I'm not stupid enough to where a skirt," I argued. Phoebe just laughed at me and handed me our pink phone. I looked at the screen. My jaw opened in amazement. "72 missed calls!"

"They're all from Mom. Whatever you do, don't answer it if its her. Let's have some fun before we're grounded until we're thirty," she said. I groaned. We really _were_ going to be grounded until we were thirty. Layla really sucked at lying. I knew it was a bad idea to have her covering us. We should have faked a school trip.

Phoebe ignored my shock and took my hand. "Come on! Let's go see if we can make the guys jealous!"

I let her lead me into the mosh of swaying bodies and started to dance.

The night was going pretty well, despite the fact that whenever the music started to lull a little bit I was filled with dreading thoughts of going home and getting my head bitten off by my now blood thirsty mother. It didn't take long for Phoebe to find another man who wanted to dance with her. Dumb as she was, she was somehow the prettiest of all three of us. Layla was the smartest. I was the most stubborn.

She left holding the hand of some older looking male. I made a mental note to keep an eye on her. Then someone took my hand. The music slowed down as a romantic song came over the speakers. The guy who had my hand was a tall, lengthy kid with a basketball players muscle tone. He was Asian of some sort with a goofy grin.

"Want to dance?"

To be honest, he had a strange vibe about him. But what was I going to do? Stand in the dance floor alone like an idiot waiting for the song to change? I don't think so.

"Sure," I said putting on my best fake smile. He put his hand on my hips, I wrapped my arms around his neck. He looked down at me smiling.

"You look familiar. What's your name?"

"Paulette," I answered. "Paulette Reigh." Suddenly he froze, a horrified look fell across his face like the Predator was standing right behind me. That irrational fear made me look over my shoulder. When I looked back at him I realized he looked familiar too.

"Hey. I know you," I said freezing with him.

"No you don't," he responded quickly.

"Yes, I do," I argued. "You're that Gideon kid. Not Michael. The other one. Um... Was it Andrew? I'm sorry. I'm really bad with names." He let go of me so abruptly his oversized body threw me to the floor. I fell roughly to the floor, nearly getting pummeled by other dancers stepping on me. He turned around quickly making his way across the floor.

I flushed, embarrassed. Then I was pissed. How dare he push me down like that! I picked myself up and balled my fists.

"Hey! Hello? Dumbass!" I called after him. An-...tonio? His name was An- something. I remembered that much. Anyway, he wove through the mass over bodies. He was moving quickly, people gave him a wide berth. I followed in his wake flustered and ready to give him a piece of my mind. I mean, who knocks girls down like that to be trampled in the middle of one of Chicago's finest clubs?

He reunited with those he came with. The other Gideon kids. Figures. He said something that made Michael raise his eyebrows. I could see him form the words, "What!?", but the music was too loud to actually hear me. The girl picked me out of the crowd. She said something.

Michael nodded toward me.

We met gazes. Suddenly fear struck me. Something about this wasn't right. He wasn't looking at me like someone should look at an old acquaintance. He was observing me while saying something to his friends. They nodded. Both immediately started toward me with a forceful, quick pace. They were chasing me.

In an instant I knew what Layla was talking about when she was complaining about them. The uncomfortable vibe they gave off, like a big burly biker covered in tattoos who was sitting alone at the bar. You just didn't want to mess with them. I turned and started to make my way as the song changed to a rock song that had people moshing and jumping.

"Phoebes!" I cried. I ducked underneath the jumpers. Luckily my sisters and I were on the shorter side. It was easy to hide in a crowd. But some unknown had them moving closer, locked in on me. Especially the girl. Every time I thought I found of group of moshers to hide in she followed me instantaneously. "Phoebe! Dammit! Where the hell are you?"

Suddenly I ran into the only girl there wearing a pleated mini skirt.

"Phoebe!"

"Paulette!" she mimicked my relieved enthusiasm with a girlish giggle.

"We have to leave. NOW!" I said. She looked at me with furrowed brows.

"Why?" she cocked her head to the side curiously. I rolled my eyes.

"Just do it!" I cried taking her hand and yanking her with me whether she was going to come willingly or not. She trotted along after me, our heels clattering louder and louder as we were making our way away from the throbbing speakers. Phoebe seemed to finally understand this was an emergency. She went to the locker she rented and punched in the code.

"What about the guys?"

"Screw them. We have to go," I said. I know. I shouldn't abandon the guys with the Gideons like that, but like I said, this was an emergency. Phoebe and I ran out into the street. The cold night air reminded me that I'd left my jacket inside. However, I am no stupid horror movie actress. I am not going back in for it.

Phoebe and I stood on the curb of the dimly lit street. Phoebe was fumbling inside her purse.

We were lucky enough to see a taxi conveniently coming our way. Thank all that is holy! I would thank divine spirits later. Now I was going to throw myself in front of a taxi. I ran across the street.

"Taxi!" The car screeched to a halt.

"Found 'em!" I heard a voice just as the girl was coming out the door. Phoebe, God bless her, yanked her pepper spray from her purse, aimed and shot with remarkable accuracy. The red haired girl cried out and pressed her hands on her eyes. Phoebe ran across the street and hopped in the back of the taxi with me.

"Where to?" the man driving asked.

"ANYWHERE!" Phoebe and I chorused in a very twin-like manner. Just as were leaving the curb I looked out the back window. Michael was on the phone talking very quickly, at a very loud volume. I sighed. Phoebe and I looked at one another. She grinned weakly.

"Nice shootin', Tex," I said nodding to the pepper spray in her hand.

"Yeah, I'm almost glad Mom made us take those stupid self defense classes," she said.

"Do you know that black car? It's following us," came the taxi driver's voice.

Phoebe and I looked over our shoulders. There was a very, _very_ nice black convertible coming up behind us quickly.

"Oh crap..." I mumbled. I ducked my head below the seat. "Phoebe! Get down!"

"Who are we running from?" Phoebe asked me as she peeked over the seat. I grabbed her head and pushed it below the window.

"I don't know!" I hissed. The car jolted as we were rear ended. The taxi driver swore. The car jerked forward. I sat up straight, I don't know what possessed me, but suddenly I realized that in my haste I wasn't wearing a seatbelt. That seemed pretty important for a car chase. I clicked it as the taxi sped up faster and faster.

I looked up. The taxi driver was not going to slow down for this red light. I guess you weren't supposed to do that for car chases. He ran it without hesitating, and the semi truck hit us at a "T" shaped angle right from Phoebe's side of the car.

* * *

Dun dun dun!

Longest chapter eva!


	28. Her Loss

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters. Sorry about the wait. Its getting a little crazy around here and I've been blocked.

* * *

**Layla:**

Now I was even more anxious. I knew how to get out. It wasn't all that hard, not at all. The thing was, what was I going to do when I got out? How could I outrun the werewolves? How could I slip past them? There was nothing around for miles. Maybe if I got a head start I could run to the car, but that required speed and I haven't driven anything for months. There was no way I could just peel out of the driveway and stomp on the gas screaming the whole way home.

I looked up at the camera having not been able to sleep all night I was still up as it was morning.

What to do? What to do?

Why what else should a hostage do? Mess with the camera. I stood up and paced trying not to look like I was up to anything. I went to my own little personal bathroom and got a roll of toilet paper. I soaked it in the sink and rolled it into a ball. I stood across the camera and threw it as hard as I could.

Miss.

I tried again.

And missed again.

Hopefully, to anyone who was watching I just looked bored, trying to hit a bulls eye. But what can I say? I throw like a girl and this was quickly getting boring. Then I gave up and stuck the wad over the camera lens with a squishy plop. I grinned. All I had to do was wait now.

I sat at the edge of my bed and clasped my hands listening for someone to come up the stairs and yell at me for messing with the camera. No one was coming. Was I even being watched at all? I looked over my shoulder and tapped my fingers impatiently on the bedpost. There were different books I had attempted to read all over the floor. It scared me that this room was starting to look a lot like my bedroom at home, the bed and its sheets were starting to feel familiar, not like its stranger hotel bed feeling it'd had when I first got here.

Still no one came into my room.

I sighed impatiently, eyes went back and forth from the window to just looking around the room. That's when I saw something I hadn't messed with for a while. The tear in the wallpaper. I made a 'hmph' sound and cocked my head to the side. It was pretty hideous wallpaper.

I stood up and took the corner. I pulled it slowly, to not leave any sticky, flaky white bits behind. Behind it the wall was brown and unpainted. It was pure dry wall. I pulled further with the tact of pulling of a band-aid. Then the wall wasn't so plain anymore. A red mark, possible from a marker appeared from edge. I pulled it further.

Someone had written something. I pulled the wallpaper further hoping it wouldn't tear. The writing was huge, the first letter was as wide as me (which isn't _that_ huge, at least by my standards).

"I", the first letter. I pulled further, the paper ripped a little. I slowed my tearing and continued. "I HA-"

"Well, what were we supposed to do!" Michael's voice roared suddenly from the other end of the house. I jumped at the suddenness of noise in my room. Boy, those werewolves were loud when they wanted to be. I looked down at the floor, remembering that I needed to be paying attention to them.

"You shouldn't have been there in the first place!" Gideon responded.

"Well, what are the chances-?"

"We can't take ANY chances, Michael! NONE! And now she is going to come here to check on our progress, and we'll have nothing to show but the bigger mess we made!"

"What about Layla? She's progress," Bridget's voice intervened.

"She's only been adding questions for us to answer," Gideon said their voices were lowering. I looked at the wall with a sigh. I was going to have to curb my curiosity for the wallpaper mystery later. I laid myself flat on the ground, ear to the floor.

"Yeah, but you have to admit she's going to be happy about Layla's weird...ness," Anthony said slowly as though trying to find the correct word to describe me. My weirdness?

"She was forced to run someone off the road last night, for God's sake! She is not going to be happy!" Gideon barked suddenly. His volume shook the frame my ear was against. I winced, thankful as always, that I wasn't in the same room as them.

"YOU said no one was going to get hurt again!" Michael suddenly erupted. My brows raised. What exactly did happen last night? Whatever it was, I must have missed a lot.

"YOU were supposed to do what I asked instead of putting aside your duties for some fun!" Gideon retorted. That was the end of that argument. The old floor creaked as though someone were pacing. I sat down on the floor. "Now that she insists on coming we're all in danger. You three have to know to keep calm around her, especially you Michael."

"I know. I'm not suicidal," Michael's comeback was silence.

"Is Layla ever going to know?" the voices were quieting. I was straining to hear. It was almost as though they were being careful in case I was listening.

"No," was the faint reply. "I will be preparing some last minute tests. One of you get Layla. I want to have a few more results before Marille shows up."

Marille? I looked as the wallpaper that was half peeling off the wall. Those three letters were still huge on the wall, stopping just short of the book case. "I HA" I stood up suddenly and ripped the rest of the wall paper aside with one huge rip.

"I HATE YOU MARILLE" That's what the words said. I felt a shiver. Marille? My heart was panicked. It suddenly dawned on me. The friend who was giving the money to Gideon for this little project. Gideon had said it was a she, and that she'd already owned this house. It looked like she'd had former prisoners in this room.

I kept an eye on the door, so that I could see whoever's face when they saw what I had revealed.

It happened to be Anthony this time around.

"Hey," he said looking tired. "You're up early... And you've... destroyed your room apparently?" Then it dawned on him what was behind the wallpaper I tore off.

"Who is Marille?" I asked him. Anthony froze in place, unwilling to respond.

"Um..." he started.

"Why is she doing this? Who wrote this?" I demanded. Anthony made a face as he bit his lip.

"Look, Layla... The doc's gotta do some more tests," Anthony said. I raised a brow and folded my arms.

"What does Marille want with Jonas?" I said narrowing my eyes. Anthony hesitated. My blood boiled in a burst of sudden rage. I clenched my fists. "Answer me, damn it!" Michael appeared in the doorway beside Anthony. He immediately looked concerned.

"Shut the door," Michael said.

"But Gideon said..." Michael turned to give him a glare.

"I said, shut the door. Don't let anyone come in," he said with a cooler more stern tone. Anthony did. Michael and I were alone in my room. He glanced at the camera that was covered, sighing with relief as he did. With that he made the few strides it took him to reach my mess. He started to reapply the sticky paper. I watched him, tensing as he was undoing what I'd done.

"Are you going to answer anything for me?" I asked him.

"No, and do you know why?" Michael snapped so suddenly it surprised me. "Because you don't have any right to know. You're a prisoner, Layla, not a guest."

"That's exactly what gives me a right to know."

"And what good will it do you?" he said. I had no answer to that. I wasn't going to tell him I was planning an escape. He saw my hesitance with a suspicious glare. "If you have any self preservation whatsoever, you will not mention that name ever again. She could rip you apart like wet paper."

"What happened last night?" I asked him.

"Nothing."

"Michael!" I demanded. In an instant I was pushed down on the bed on my back. His hand was pressed on my chest holding me down. Michael hovered over me with serious shining blue eyes. I kept my mouth shut as a growl rumbled from him.

"We have tried to make you comfortable and you don't seem the least bit appreciative," he growled. "DON'T make things harder on us than they need to be. We don't like to make hasty decisions, but we will if we have to. Remember, Layla, you know nothing of our world. There are some things you should keep your distance from. Jonas should have been one of them, the subject of Marille is another. We don't need anymore people hurt." What he meant by that I had no idea. I kept on my game face to show that he wasn't intimidating me. Even though he was. I think I might have fooled him as he started to back off.

With that he backed away letting me up. He even offered me a hand. I glared at him and pushed myself up. Michael shook his head and smoothed over the wallpaper once more so it didn't look any different than before.

"Come on. We need to run some tests," he said, calm again. I stood still. "Layla..." His tone was a warning. I reluctantly followed him out the quiet door that was my way out of this place. I was not going to stay here much longer. My patience was wearing thin.

* * *

**Paulette:**

It was strange to be half awake and delirious with blood loss as I was rushed into Chicago Memorial. Bright lights passed over me. The people pulling the stretcher were nothing but blobs. The pain had either subsided or I had gone completely numb. Either way, my eyes started to close, but I was still listening.

"Car accident, around 10:22 this evening. She and a sister were in a cab that ran a red light," someone reported.

"Do we have an ID?"

"Yes, a driver's license. Paulette Anne Reigh. She's from out of town," said a woman.

"Where?"

"Danwell, Montana."

"Hm... Interesting..." said the other voice. "Could you ask for Dr. Bloom?"

"Certainly," said the woman.

The doctor shouted some orders some people stood around me reaching over me for bags or towels. I laid there perfectly still unable to move. I thought about Phoebe. I wondered how she was fairing. I wondered how many sympathy points I was going to get from my parents.

"She's losing a lot of blood," someone said worriedly.

Me? I was losing a lot of blood? I was dying? No, I couldn't be dying.

"You rang?" said a new voice.

"Yes, I need a certain transfusion." There was a hesitance.

"What kind?"

"Everyone! OUT!" barked a voice.

"But sir, she's still crashing!"

"I SAID OUT! The other one was in much worse shape than this one. Go help them!" muffled shoes went to the other side of the room. It was oddly quiet without all of the people hovering over me.

"Get the transfusion."

"THE transfusion?"

"Yes, we could make a fortune. Besides, the other one's not going to make it. This is the only chance she's got," he said.

"But the incubation period-"

"She's from Danwell, Montana."

"Oh... Well, alright. I'll contact the council."

"There's no time. We'll ask them after the process is over."

"And if they say no?"

"Its Danwell. Who's going to find out?"

"Ah, good point. Besides, the less the council knows, the better."

"True."

"I know just the guy for the job too."

"I'm confused," I blurted. There was a stunned silence. I groaned and turned my head. My eyes wouldn't open. It felt like they refused to.

"Put a rush on that order."

Blackness. I dreamed of really weird things. Spires on castles, stained glass windows, people dressed in black appearing and appearing out of nowhere. Orange eyes, sly grins, and music was softly humming. It was my dad's music. Older classic rock. I recognized the few repetitive strums, but couldn't place a face to the flashes of the black shadowed people that kept disappearing and reappearing.

The final image was a young man with ghostly white skin.

* * *

"She's waking up," said a familiar voice. My eyes opened slowly. White walls grabbed my attention. Everything hurt. I saw a smiling handsome face in front of me. He was strikingly handsome. I was shocked that heaven had its own super models. Then I felt arms wrap around me and someone collapsed into sobs. 

"Paulie!" My mother cried.

"Mom?" I groaned. I guess I wasn't dead.

My father was on the other side of her looking concerned with his hands stuck in his pockets. That was never a good sign. That was his nervous twitch. Beside him was another man. I was immediately self conscious. I felt like my hair was a mess and my make up was still smeared.

"It's a miracle," my dad said to the doctor, but his face was still solemn. My dad was an ER doctor. He would know a miracle when he saw one.

"You're telling me. Overnight recovery. Let me tell you, if I was a glory hog I would ask to document this case," he said to my dad. He nodded understandingly.

"Paulette, we'd like to ask you some questions. I understand that you must be a little disoriented, but we time really is of the essence," said the other man. "I'm Detective Larson." My mother pulled away from me holding onto my shoulders.

"Paulette, where's your sister?" my mom blurted.

"She was in the car with me," I said. How did they not know where Phoebe was? My mom looked physically hurt by the statement. I looked around the room. No one was speaking up.

"Mrs. Reigh," Detective Larson said. My mom pulled away from me almost reluctantly and stood beside my father who put his arm around her. Detective Larson sat at the edge of my bed. "We need to know where Layla is."

"Layla?" I asked. "She was supposed to stay home." My parents exchanged a concerned look. My mother had tears pouring down her face. She was quick to wipe them away.

"We haven't heard from her for a couple of days. Your parents are very worried about her. Are you absolutely sure you haven't heard from her?"

"Yeah," I said slowly. "Why? What happened to Layla?"

"We don't know," Larson said. He took a photo from the manilla folder he was holding. "Do you recognize this boy?" He handed me a picture of someone familiar. It was a school photo. I recognized the back drop immediately. The forced smile made didn't help, but the emo hair was familiar.

"That's Layla's ex boyfriend. That guy she's obsessed with. Um... I think his name was John?" I said. Larson's brows went up.

"Jonas?"

"Yeah, that's what I meant."

"Really? Ex boyfriend?"

"Yeah. Well, they didn't really go out. But they always had a weird... thing, you know? They always stared at each other. They had a thing last year, but it was short lasting. Jerk just blew Layla off and she hasn't wanted to date since," I said as my gossipy self took over.

"Why do you need to know about him?" I asked again.

"He's missing too. Do you know if there's any way they could have run off together?" Larson asked.

"Doubt it," I snorted. "Layla would never do anything so fun. And she would have at least told Phoebe and me about it. Besides, they haven't really spoken in like... forever." Larson sighed heavily. He looked at my parents and whispered something to them. They nodded and hurriedly went outside. Manilla folder was still at my feet.

The doctor had moved onto the next patient. I edged up in my bed. Pain struck me hard in the ribs. I winced, but I wanted to see what Jonas's folder looked like. My curiosity was more important than pain. It always had been. I finally reached it. I snatched it and opened it. His file had notes jotted down about him. I raised my brow at some of the things that were written.

Prone to psychotic breaks?

"What the hell?" I mumbled. That was a statement from Jonas's dad. I was immediately concerned for my older sister. Memories flooded back to me about the night I'd had. The Gideons. I'd seen them. Could they have had anything to do with Layla? With our car accident?

"I know someone who can tell me," I mumbled. I felt around for a pen. There was one in the drawer beside me on a 'Get Well' card. There was a phone number inside. I wrote it down on my hand, straining the IV that were in it at the same time. If there's anything I can do as gossip queen of the school, its get information. Just as I'd jotted the last number the door started to open. I tossed the manilla folder on the floor hastily.

"Oops," I said. Larson shrugged.

"Don't worry, dear. I'll get that," he said bending down to pick up the papers. My mom and dad came into the room. My mom had started another sobbing fit as soon as she saw me. My dad walked around me and sat down at a vinyl covered chair.

"Sweetheart," my father said. He looked me straight in the eye. I felt a deep sinking feeling in my chest. Either he was going to yell at me or tell me bad news. I just knew it. He swallowed hard. It was bad news.

Wait a second...

I felt myself pale. All of the sudden I knew what the news was before anyone said anything.

"What about Phoebe?" I said. My voice shook with the question.

"Honey, Phoebe didn't make it," my father said.

* * *

**Jonas:**

I was bored, as usual. Hanging around in my robe wasn't really doing much good. In an instant my nose picked up a strong scent. It was as refreshing and inspiring. She was heading this way, but wasn't quite there yet. I couldn't smell anyone else with her, but her smell had always overwhelmed everything. I really couldn't smell anything else in this concrete prison, but somehow, hers always seemed to reach me. She could be accompanied by Gideon, or maybe she escaped.

I shook my head to myself. No, there was no way a human could escape werewolves. It was impossible. And she certainly wouldn't comeback for me if she did escape. Her scent traveled up to the one way mirrored room where I could only see my reflection. I self consciously caught a glance at myself.

I grimaced. I really did look like hell. My hair was greasy, my robe torn at the arms from unwillingly going through the Change in a burst of frustration a few times.

"Layla?" I called out to her.

"How do you know she's in here?" asked Gideon. I shrugged.

"I smell her," I said.

"Do you smell me?"

"No," I said. There was a pause. "Could I talk to her?"

"We'll see, Jonas," Gideon said. I rolled my eyes and busied myself by pacing. "That's a remarkable sense of smell."

"Yeah," I grumbled folding my arms over myself. I slumped over to the chair that was once bolted to the floor and stainless steal. Lately it'd been my throwing device. One of the legs was permanently bent and strained.

"Can you smell her when she's in the house?"

"I smell her all the time. Does that narrow it down for you?" I asked testily.

"There's no need for that kind of tone," Gideon said. I snorted. If what he wanted was my respect he was going to have to work a long time to get it.

"I cannot wait to rip out his throat," said the monster within me.

"Yeah, me neither," I grumbled.

* * *

**Layla:**

It was kind of funny seeing Jonas again looking like I felt. He was tense with frustration. I found myself grinding my back teeth watching him. I pushed my glasses on the bridge of my nose. Michael, Bridget, and Anthony were standing partially in front of me, occasionally blocking my view.

"How can he smell her?" Bridget asked. "I can't smell anything in this room when I'm outside it."

"Selective scent?" Anthony suggested.

"And out there when she's in the house? First of all she's up on the second floor. Then of course there's how windy it is out here. I can barely smell anything," Michael said. I hoped no one was paying attention to me that second because then no one could see my face as the idea of the century popped into my head.

"Alright, let's get on with this interview," Gideon said.

* * *

**Paulette:**

I hadn't moved for a few hours now. I was still overwhelmed that my best friend, my partner in crime, my identical sister was gone. She was the oldest, she was the happiest, she was the prettiest, and now she was just dead? How could that have even happened? And Layla? Where the hell was she? By the time I'd been able to compose myself and be alone I looked at the number I'd written on my hand. My eyes narrowed.

One thing was for sure. I was not going to lose more than one sister.

I was going to get the answers I needed to get my remaining sister back and that was that. I reached for the phone at my bedside. I had gotten the coveted phone number no one at school had ever had the gall to obtain. I'd gotten the Carter House phone. The phone rang once, than twice.

Wait? What was that guy's name again?

"Hello?" someone answered. It started with a T. I knew that for sure.

"Hi, is Timmy there?"

"Who?"

"Timmy?" I asked hesitantly.

"I'm sorry. I think you have the wrong number," said the calm voice.

"Wait! I don't have the wrong number. I need to talk to the guy that hangs out with Jonas. Or the girl. This is a life or death matter," I said sternly. There was a hesitating pause.

"Did you mean Tommy?"

"Yes! Or his girlfriend. This is really, really important," I said.

"This is Katrina. I'm Tommy's girlfriend," said the girl. I sighed with relief and then took a breath for my rage to spill out.

"Look, you have a lot of explaining to do. I'm in Chicago right now and those Gideon kids you know? Yeah! They tried to kill me and my sister!" I said voice seething.

"Who is this?"

"Paulette Reigh. Layla's sister," I said.

"They tried to kill Layla? You know where Layla is?"

"No! They tried to kill me and my other sister. The blonde ones. In fact..." I said. I choked on my words. I shook my head reminding myself that there was no time for this now. "They did kill my sister. We recognized them and they chased after us. A black convertible chased us into an intersection and... The point is what are they doing in Chicago when Layla and Jonas are missing?"

There was silence on the other end of the line.

"Hello?"

"Shit!" I cringed. At least she was still there. In the background I could hear frantic footsteps. She was running whatever she was doing. "Tommy! TOMMY! Get down here!"

"Listen, Christina. You'd better get to the police and tell them about the Gideons..."

"No! No, don't tell the police anything!" Katrina said.

"Of course I'm going to tell the police. I just wanted to let you know that your friends are a bunch of psychos first and if they did anything to my sister I swear to god-!" My threat was cut off short.

"It's Katrina and the Gideons are NOT our friends. You're right about one thing. The Gideons are a bunch of psychos which is exactly why you CANNOT tell the police. They will have Layla and Jonas moved by the time anyone shows up. They're very careful about unwanted attention. We all are," she said. My brow furrowed. Who's we?

"Tommy and I are going to get down there and take care of it. If you don't here from us in two days, go ahead and tell the police, but you have to wait first for any chance of getting your sister back," she said. I felt myself getting angry again.

"Does this have anything to do with your family's weird cult?" I asked her. Everyone knew they're weird living situation. The huge gigantic mansion with about five families living inside. You tell me that doesn't sound like a cult to you.

"Cult?... Um. Yeah, sure. Whatever. So keep your mouth shut and we'll get your sister back, I promise," Katrina said. Her voice was muffled. "Tom, get your bags. We're going to Chicago."

"You promise to get Layla back?" I echoed Katrina.

"Yes," Katrina said confidently. I felt a little better. I sighed.

"Thank you," I said. She hung up. I stared at the receiver for a moment. Worried tears for both of my sisters came to the brim of my eyes. They fell reluctantly. The worse thing was that now all I had to do was wait and hope that two days wasn't going to be too late to call the police.

* * *

In case you're wondering, Paulette's little weird thing has something to do with the sequel. Yay! 


	29. Her Partner

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters.

Could it be? Another chapter? My god, it is!

Sorry about Phoebe's demise, however its relevant for the sequel, which by the way, is coming along fantavulously. Mucho chapters for that once this ordeal is finished. So, by a show of hands how many people want it to be on this story, or for me to start a whole new one?

On with the show!

* * *

**Layla:**

I'm sure you're dying to know how I plan on escaping this well constructed prison. Well, to be honest so am I. My plan was half baked. I only had one idea. Up high, outside, with the wind. Werewolves can't smell very well when their prey in up in the air. And I remembered Jonas running with me from Anthony, he'd jumped up on top of the building. Anthony hadn't found us.

So I knew what to do. Marille was coming today and the werewolves were already tense. This wasn't a good sign, but the way I saw it, it was now or never. I was going to chance it. So I'd gotten dressed for running today. I wore the tennis shoes I'd been brought here with, black yoga pants and brown spaghetti strap shirt.

I was going to make it this time and no one was going to stop me. I kept my only weapon nearby. Then I'd been using to write in the daily planner. Did I have the gall to stab anyone in my way? At this point, yes. The morning came and everyone was on high alert.

Michael was the one who'd brought my breakfast this time.

He handed me a plate of pancakes. I looked at him oddly.

"What? No take out?" I asked him.

"Doc likes to cook when he gets nervous. Marille's on her way. She had some stuff to take care of in the city," he said.

"You know I finished _Scarlet Letter_," I said. Michael forced a mildly interested look on his face. "Chillingworth is evil. When the minister guy dies, Chillingworth dies because his only purpose in life was to torture him." Michael looked down.

"Oh. Well, its just a story from a very biased time incapable of abstract thought. Everything is black and white to them," he said.

"Mm hmm," I said taking my plate. Michael sat at the edge of my bed. "Are you going to tell me what happened that night?" Michael took a breath through his nose. He exhaled slowly as he stared at the bedspread.

"We went to a club in Chicago. That's all," Michael said eyes firmly at the ground. I paused.

"You're lying," I said. Michael shook his head.

"We didn't do anything that night," Michael said firmly as he looked up. I knew my sisters' tricks well enough to know what he was doing. Selective truth. You deliberately leave some points out. I narrowed my eyes suspiciously at him. "Look, when Marille comes I want you to realize something. She can lose her temper and kill you at the drop of a hat. She's..."

"A lone wolf," I deducted. Michael's brows raised impressed.

"Yes," he said. Suddenly everything became clear to me.

"That's why she wants Jonas. She's looking for a cure," I realized. I looked at the wall where the wallpaper had been reapplied. As a lone wolf she must have had an opposite. She must have been obsessed with someone. So obsessed she might have held them prisoner. I clenched the pen in my hand tightly.

Maybe it would be safer to just leave Jonas. I quickly shook that thought from my head.

"I'm so sick of this!" I burst.

"Layla, calm down," Michael said touching my hand. I snatched my hand away from under his.

"Calm down?" I snapped. I huffed angrily. "Chillingworth wasn't just evil. He tortured someone to death. He is a murderer. And I bet he felt justified because he didn't do anything striking or violent. He inadvertently is responsible for a death, but responsible none the less." Michael's eyes went wide as I said this. I hoped he understood my metaphor. This was cruel and unusual what he was doing to Jonas and me. He was hurting us, by not doing anything at all.

He took in a breath through his nose and exhaled slowly. I could see that I'd struck some sort of nerve. He started to turn away from me. This time I caught his hand.

"Don't just sit around watching all this. You saw Jonas, he's a mess. This is hurting people. _Do_ something," I encouraged. The least I could do was attempt to encourage him before I made my daring and probably futile escape.

"I will. When I'm twenty-one I'm going to be Alpha and..."

"Do you really have that sort of time to hide around in this hell hole?" I interrupted.

"It's not that simple, Layla. A pack can't just turn against its Alpha," he started.

"Then don't! Just do something that will help us get out of here. Please." I urged closing my hands around his. He breathed in and out deeply.

"If you did escape, if you did run off to live happily ever after with Jonas you have to realize he's dangerous. If you ever tried to leave him, if he ever caught you cheating..."

"I would never do those things to him," I interrupted again.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" I said shocked that he could ever think that I would. Jonas had been my life ever since he first made his appearance.

"You'd want to spend the rest of your life with him?" Michael eyed me suspiciously.

"Yes," I decided without even the slightest hesitance. It was the ease that my answer came out that I realized this devotion I'd felt with him since the first day I met Jonas. "I'm hopelessly and stupidly in love with him. I think I have been for a long time." Michael bit his lip in thought. Then he sighed heavily.

"Marille's going to be here soon," he said. I didn't know what this had to do with what we were talking about. "I have a plan. You won't like it, but I can't let the same thing happen to you and Jonas that happened to Sarah."

"Who?"

"A friend of mine. Gideon's former experiment. I stood by and let that one happen and I won't let it happen again." I smiled brightly with excitement. Adrenaline mixed with joy.

"Time is of the essence. Layla, you ready?" he asked me.

"What? Right now?" I asked. He nodded and grinned a, dare I say, wolfish grin.

All of the sudden he pounced on top of me and kissed me. I couldn't react. I stiffened completely eyes wide as he pushed me backward until I was on my back. He held me for a second and another, I could feel his heart and mine was going crazy with panic. He moved his hands through my hair, along my back, careful to stay away from the forbidden zones. Still I had no idea what to do. I just proclaimed my love for someone and he was going to jump me?

Then finally he let go. He laughed at my horrified expression.

"I told you you wouldn't like it," he said. He let me up and smoothed out his clothes. I was so confused I couldn't find the words to ask his what the hell he thought he was doing. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to pay the love of your life a visit." It wasn't until he left the room I understood what he was doing.

"Wait! Michael, don't!" I couldn't recover fast enough to stop him before the door closed all the way.

* * *


	30. The Demise

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters.

* * *

**Jonas:**

I was almost asleep. And when you're locked in a room with too much time on your hands, sleep is all you can do. In fact you just want to be asleep all the time, because its just so boring. The steel walls were driving me insane. In my fits I'd cracked some places, but the one thing I could never put a dent in...

Was that stupid one way mirror.

I glared at it.

"That's right. I'm talking about you mirror." God, I smelled. There was shower in here. A good move on their part. I'd already thought of how much damage a tub could do. I only hoped Layla was fairing better than I was. Gideon said they were treating her well, and she didn't seem to be causing trouble, so she couldn't be doing to badly.

Right?

"_Correct_," my wild side deducted internally. "_It is best to stay put. For her sake_."

A scent hit my nose. Strawberries.

"Layla," I blurted before I could stop myself. I sniffed again. It was a weak scent. It grew closer, climbing the stairs before the reaching the room behind the mirrors. I could only stare at my dirtied reflection and wonder what was beyond there.

"You've got a special girl there, Jonas," said a voice. I immediately started to growl.

Michael.

"She is special," I admitted.

"_Her smell is there_," the beast reminded me.

"Its not strong," I whispered.

"_But it is there_."

"Layla and I had an interesting conversation this morning. I think she could start to like me yet," Michael said through the intercom. "And who could blame her? I'm normal. At least, compared to you I'm normal. I'm smarter. I'm going to be the Alpha of my pack. You were once in that position weren't you? Then your dad demoted you and put your best friend in that position? Couldn't exactly run a pack with you... er, situation now could you?"

My heartbeats picked up speed. I felt blood course. My muscles twitched, itching to transform and kill him.

"And let's face it. I'm better looking than you and I'm sure she thought I was a better kisser than you," he said. My heart stopped. The adrenaline froze in its place with every other molecule of my body. "Sure, she doesn't like me now. But I'll fix that. She'll appreciate me. She'll love me. And you'll be here. Alone in your little box wondering how she's doing, if I've hurt her."

"Don't touch her!" I cried, pacing. I inhaled again. Her scent.

"_She isn't in there. Her scent is on him_," the beast realized.

"Oh, you should've mentioned that earlier. You see, I've already touched her," he said. My skull split right down the middle with no consent of my own. I let out a frustrated roar that rattled every pane of glass, the concrete floor hummed in vibration, and the supporting beams rang against the steel walls. I could hear every weak point. Every fraction of space that let out the smallest bit of fresh air.

My legs twisted, and became that of a wolf's. My snout bulged from my face and fangs jutted out of my muzzle. Oh, sweet release. I was going to kill him. I was going to kill him good.

"That's right, Jonas. Come and get me if you can," Michael taunted.

This snapped my attention toward the end of my transformation. The human part of me was suspicious.

"_He knows better than to do this. He knows I'll kill him_," the human said.

"_Than his death is that much more deserved_!" the beast raged. Yes! I could not be held responsible for my actions.

Then again, I've been in control for so long.

"Come on, you stupid mutt!" Michael shouted from behind the safety of the one way mirror. In my current state, I could only roar in response. There was no more restraint left in me. Flashes went across my mind. Memories of the first time I saw her walking into the nurse's office, watching the rain, her kiss, my father raging at me, Marille and her binder full of Lone Wolf information, Tommy, Katrina, Layla asking for our help, Gideon shaking my father's hand upon first meeting, Michael grinning menacingly.

I snapped.

My muscles tensed. Claws scraped the concrete. I flung my body at the one way mirror. It shook distorting its reflection. Once more. The thump echoed throughout my cell. Could they hear me? Were they watching Michael? Were they sure I couldn't reach him? Was this some sort of sick and twisted psychological test?

I flung my body once more.

This time a crack appeared across the glass. Smells escaped through the hole. I could smell Michael and Layla's scent lingering on him. I could smell his fear. One more pounce and he would be in my teeth.

* * *

**Layla:**

Okay, Michael just went as live bait to aggravate Jonas. What that was going to accomplish other than getting himself _killed_ I have no idea. However, I had my original plan. I had to stick to it. That is, unless I ruined it to warn Bridget and Anthony what their friend was doing. And ruin my chances of escaping? Was that worth Michael's life? I walked around and around my small room fidgeting with the pen I'd been using between my two fingers.

"Easy. Relax," I coaxed myself. My brain was a frantic blank shade. I couldn't develop anything in this kind of mood.

"Where's Michael?" I heard Gideon say.

"I don't know. Last I saw him he was going out back," Bridget answered.

"I'll see Jonas in a moment. I want to see the girl," said a new woman's voice. I felt my eyes go wide. My bedroom door opened. I held my pen by my side as I faced her. She was a blonde woman, strong and beautiful looking like all the other werewolves I'd met. We stood across the room from one another like a couple of gunslingers.

"You must be Marille," I found myself saying. Yeah, finally my heroic banter had kicked in. It only took me about five days to get it. She smiled politely.

"Why, yes. I am. And you must be Layla. How did you know my name?" she asked looking cocky in her business suit. I cocked my head at the wall.

"It was the graffiti under the wallpaper," I said. That seemed to have struck a nerve. The werewolves behind her had a look of concern.

"Leave us," Marille instructed Gideon. His eyes flashed worry.

"Um... Marille, perhaps I should monitor..."

"I said, get out," Marille snapped. With an apologetic shrug Gideon shut the door, locking me inside with a psychotic super being. Marille waved to my bed, as though to offer me a seat. I smiled politely and sat down. She sat across from me on the other end. "You're quite the human, I hear."

"And you must be the psychotic monster I've been hearing so much about," I retorted looking pleasant. She forced a grin and then ground her teeth.

"Hm... You're starting to remind me of the previous occupants of this room," she said. Her grin fell to pieces. She looked almost sad. "They hated me. Which is why I find you so striking. You don't hate the one who's attracted to you. I've never heard of a Lone Wolf case where the wolf was so well contained and the human was receptive of its attention."

I shrugged and sucked in a breath of courage for my next sentence.

"Maybe its not the fact that people hated you because you're a Lone Wolf. Maybe they just hated you because you were a bitch," I said with an innocent shrug. Marille became still.

"You must not know much about Lone Wolves. You see I have a terrible temper. And you're pushing it, human," she said through clenched teeth. I leaned forward from where I sat, hiding the pen I was holding in my hand.

"So you must have really loved the people that were in here? The ones you held captive?" I said. Marille nodded. I swallowed hard. I remembered my sisters. Phoebe's stupid cheer of encouragement she'd once given me for boys rang in my head. _Be aggressive, be, be aggressive._

"Now I'm curious," I said cocking an eyebrow. "Did you kill them yourself in a fit of this uncontrollable rage? Or did they just commit suicide after they couldn't stand you anymore?" A snarl escaped from Marille's twitching lip. I screamed as all of the sudden I was brought painfully up against the wall. Marille had a fist full of my shirt that she pinned me up against the wall, dangling over the floor. Luckily, I'd been able to take the pen with me.

"I don't want to kill you, Layla. I need you alive, but you're making this very difficult!" Marille screamed as she was shaking with lack of restraint. No one was coming in to save me. I was reminded that I was on my own. I clenched the pen in my fist.

_Be aggressive._

"Argh!" I screamed in her face, partially in a war cry, partially as a distraction. And I shoved the pen into her neck. There was a disgusting squish that made both of us scream. She dropped me suddenly. I hit the wall and then the floor as she screamed frantically. I stared in horror at the pen protruding from her neck. Something I hadn't expected happened. There was a sickening hiss, steam rose up from the small wound.

The door burst open. Anthony, Bridget, and Gideon ran inside. They were in too much of a rush to help Marille to notice me. I noticed the door swinging closed. No one was outside.

Good God, my distraction worked!

I caught the door by the handle before it could latch and let myself out, slamming the door closed behind me.

"The door!"

"Where's Layla?

"She locked us in!"

"_What?"_

"What happened to Marille?" Anthony shouted.

"She's been stabbed with silver. Who the hell left a silver pen in here?" Gideon responded.

Silver. _Silver?_ **Are you freakin' kidding me!** That whole silver thing about werewolves was true? Boy it was just dumb luck that pen happened to be silver. Or was it? Who would be stupid enough to leave me a resource like that?

I decided not to stick around to find out. I ran as fast as I could. I couldn't believe it! I was out of that room! Ha! I won! Well, maybe I hadn't won, but I was definitely winning. I'd never ran as fast as I was now. As I pumped my arms I promised God and the universe I would start jogging with my sisters in the morning if I could just make it home.

I ran outside into the field of tall yellow grass just in time to see the explosion from Jonas's prison. Metal creaked and shards of steel showered over the windy field. I saw a blonde wolf run through the grass. I immediately recognized him as Michael.

And behind him was a very angry Jonas.

That's when I realized something. Jonas was out of his prison. I was out of mine. Michael had taunted Jonas to the point of frustration where his superior Lone Wolf abilities could even break through his prison. However, these abilities not only made him strong enough to break through a holding cell of concrete and steel. It also gave him the speed to outrun the very same werewolf who had pissed him off to this point.

"Jonas!" I yelled from across the plains. He couldn't hear me. Michael zig zagged across the plains. Jonas was too quick for him to shake. Michael was smaller, more wiry, but Jonas had the motivation. "Jonas! Stop!"

Then Michael turned toward my direction running directly at me. He tried to turn in a another zig zag, but he tripped. Jonas caught him, swiping his paw across his body. Michael made a terrible yipping noise and landed on the ground in front of me.

I couldn't let Michael die. Not after all he'd done for me. Jonas started to gallop after his body again, his head tilted in a roar. I swallowed hard at the sight of the monster and jumped in front of Michael's body. The only comfort I had was to just believe that Jonas would never hurt me, not after protecting me for so long.

Jonas saw me. His small puppy eyes became wide as I stood between him and his prey.

This was going to end either very romantically or very tragically.

* * *

**Jonas:**

There was a sickening pleasure in finally getting the chance to smack the daylights out of Michael. He'd stalked my mate, he'd made her uncomfortable, and now he'd touched her. That was unforgivable. Nothing was going to stand between me and ripping out his throat.

I picked up speed at Michael who was bloodied and wounded in the grass. Good. It saved me the trouble of running after him again. His pitiful efforts of escaping me were growing tiresome. He'd challenged my inner beast. He was going to have to face the consequences. And nothing was going to stop me now.

Then all of the sudden Layla was standing there.

My eyes widened. I stopped my paws, claws digging in the dirt as I tried to skid to a stop. But the momentum drove me forward and Layla refused to move. She stood her ground and closed her eyes tight. Even skidding to a halt, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to stop before hitting right into her.

_Slow down! Slow down!_

I found myself closing my eyes tight as well, probably thinking the same thing Layla was thing. _Please, for the love of God, don't let me hurt her. _

Finally I slowed down and stopped. My eyes opened the same moment Layla's did. Our noses were only inches apart. Me, the monstrous beast in front of her, Layla, the beautiful girl who's brown eyes blinked at me behind her glasses.

"It's okay, Jonas," she said, her voice shaking just a little bit. "You see? We're free now."

_What? We were?_

"Look. See? We're outside. We're together. It's over," Layla said nodding to the scenery around us. Michael whined behind her. Being reminded of his presence made me growl. Suddenly two cool hands gently held either side of my canine head. Layla looked into my eyes breathing deeply. How did she have the courage to stand in front of me? The terrible monster?

"Michael only aggravated you so that you could find your own way to escape. I've escaped, you've escaped. We're okay," Layla said. Her voice soothed me. The adrenaline stopped flowing. My heart beats slowed to a regular pace. She smiled at me and patted my fur.

She not only had accepted me, but she'd stopped me from killing a fellow werewolf. This, I decided, was the most amazing human in the world. I gently pushed my muzzle against her. She reached around my thick beastly neck and embraced me.

_This_ was happiness.

In my happy stupor I glanced at the black convertible at the side of the road. It had a familiar scent to it, although the dented bumper on the front end was new. Wait, I knew that car.

What was Aunt Marille doing here?

"Argh!" my sensitive ears picked up a frustrated scream.

"Marille! Please! You've got to calm down! Something's wrong!"

"NOT WHEN I'VE COME THIS FAR!" My eyes went wide. My body stiffened, alerting Layla that something was wrong. From Layla's room came an explosion of splintered wood. My aunt burst from the wreckage and landed gracefully from the two story height like only a werewolf could.

"Uh oh," Layla said back peddling away from her with me. We both stopped just short of Michael. Standing in front of our comrade protectively. Aunt Marille's breaths were heaving. Her fists clenched at her side. Gideon was right. There was something wrong with her. Her veins were a dark gray around her neck. There blood trickling from a swollen wound from her neck. Her fingers were clenched, but at the ends were that of a werewolf.

She was a monster.

"Jonas, step back," Marille said, her eyes promising death. I tore away from Layla and pounced the ground before Marille in warning. I growled and hunched my back. "Step. Back."

No way. Not when I finally had Layla in on my secret. Not when I was out of my prison.

"I have a few choice words for you Layla," Aunt Marille said stalking around a circle. I made sure to always keep myself between her and Layla as I followed her movements. "I've made it very far. I've killed to get the answers I have now. Humans and werewolves alike. You're the only success story I have. Now I have new obsession back home and I don't want anything to come between him and me. I_ have_ to study you."

Layla swallowed hard unable to look away from the grotesque discoloration of her neck. Marille grinned.

"Oh... This?" Aunt Marille touched the wound on her neck. "I guess I deserved that. After all, I am partially responsible for your sister's death. Though, in all fairness I wasn't trying to kill her." Layla went completely white. Her mouth parted in shock as though she wanted to say something.

"I just want you to know how serious I am about keeping you here," she said.

"Liar!" Layla snapped.

"You'll never know the truth. You'll just have to take my word for it. Because neither of you are going home," Aunt Marille said eyes flashing back from me to Layla. She looked to Michael who was a bloodied heap on the floor, still breathing but groaning in pain. "I am willing to make the necessary sacrifices for my happiness." I couldn't contain the growl in my throat any longer.

"You seem to be the only one willing to," Layla said darkly. I saw a tear escape from the corner of her eye. Michael was Changing back to his human form in the grass.

"Kill... her," he moaned when he was able to speak.

"Like you could," Aunt Marille sneered at me. She was a Lone Wolf. We would be evenly matched. In fact, I bet she'd never had to face the wrath of another Lone Wolf before.

"She's going to kill more innocent people. She's not controlled like you are. You're not a maniac, Jonas. She is," Michael said. I could only see Layla. Her brows were knit together in confusion. I could practically see her frantic mind spinning the options in her head, all the while wondering if her family was alive.

So I pounced her.

* * *

**Layla:**

One of my sisters was dead because of this awful woman. Suddenly I felt justified in stabbing her, no matter how incorrect that feeling must be.

Jonas leapt, too fast for me to anticipate. Marille transformed in the blink of an eye and the two met in a frantic collision of movements too impossible to track. Meanwhile, I knelt at Michael's side. He reached for my arm and held on.

"He'll be fine," Michael said.

The mass of fur was just a blur now. I swallowed hard, just hoping he was over. I heard yips of pain. The cracking of bones, the ripping of fur. I looked down at Michael who seemed to be able to follow every one of those movements.

"You might want to look away," Michael advised.

I looked down at him.

"Why?"

YIPE!

I looked up just in time to see Marille's body fly into the windshield of her expensive black Italian convertible. Glass shattered and rained down around us. She wasn't moving. My eyes went wide as I suddenly saw why. Her body was broken in half at an awkward angle. Jonas collapsed in exhaustion. Then he picked himself up and limped his way over toward us.

He then started to Change in front of me. His body shrank and molded into a human form until his fur retracted into his skin. He slowly stood from all four legs as his paws were replaced with hands. He walked on two legs staggering as he did. He was a little bloody from the encounter, but he looked nowhere near critical. The last patch of fur sank back into his skin and... HELLO!

Well, he was naked. Let's put it that way.

The waist high grass covered most of him, but it was still strange to see the person you've fallen in love with standing completely naked. He seemed unaffected, like this was an everyday event.

Then I realized Michael was naked too. I backed away from Michael as the boys exchanged defensive glares.

"Thank you," Jonas said. I exhaled in relief.

"You're welcome," Michael said. His blue eyes looked away. "And sorry about... the... uh-. You know."

Jonas gave a single nod. I noticed that Gideon, Bridget, and Anthony had found their way out of my room that Marille had probably destroyed to escape from. I quickly stood at Jonas's side.

And even though I had the perfect opportunity from this angle, no, I didn't look.

At first he didn't pay any mind to us at all. He didn't demand we return to our destroyed prisons or threaten usDr. Gideon knelt down to help Michael and observe his injuries. It was obvious Marille was disposed of. There was no point in investigating that any further. He looked up at Jonas and I. He returned his attention to Michael.

"Anthony, get my kit. We're going to have to set a splint," he said to him. Anthony offered us a glance and then raced off into the house. Gideon sighed.

"Well," Gideon said. "I suppose that's that then."

"That's just it? No more Lone Wolf studies?" Jonas asked.

"No more. Marille was running this study. It was expensive and frankly, I think the messes made were even more disastrous than the funds can handle," Gideon said.

"So you're letting us go?" I clarified.

"Yes. I'm confident you're going to return and not tell the police where you've been. At least the truth of it. I doubt we'll be welcome in your territory again and you needn't worry about our trespassing. And it's like I said Layla, once Jonas has you, I doubt he'll give you back without a fight. I'm certainly not going to be the one to try to," Gideon said. I smiled and looked to Jonas he looked embarrassed that Gideon had said this out loud. I reached for his hand and touched it, surprising him.

"Good," I said. "I don't want to be given back."

"In that case. I wish you the best," he nodded once.

"One more thing," Jonas said his voice still strong and masculine from his triumph. I did my best to contain my smile and a girlish sigh. "Could I borrow some pants?" And just like that I had to do my best to keep from laughing. Gideon cocked an eyebrow and turned to Bridget.

"Would you mind finding something of Michael's for Jonas to wear?"

* * *

TAH-DAH! Not much more to go, just have to tie up some loose ends and, of course, the preview for the sequel which I have been neglecting to bring you this chapter:-D I'm so excited. I never finish anything!


	31. The End

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters.

YAY! Ariana finished something! And the clouds opened up and the angels sang!

::Dances in joy::

* * *

**Layla:**

About an hour later, Jonas had a change of clothes and we were both ready to leave. We couldn't borrow any cars. The Gideons needed time to clear out the remains of werewolf evidence before we reported the police where we were. We decided that our story was going to be that one second Jonas and I were at home and the next we woke up five days later to find ourselves three states away.

As lame as it was, it was the best we could come up without naming any names or letting the world know about its supernatural part.

Now we were walking back to the main on the only dirt road that led to the house.

"It's good to see the sun again," Jonas said conversationally.

"Yeah," I agreed. Jonas smiled at the sky, hands in the pocket of Michael's Abercrombie and Fitch jeans and a preppy polo shirt that looked strange on the kid with the emo haircut I'd only seen in black.

"So... Michael-?"

"He just kissed me. And I had no part in that decision. Trust me," I said. Jonas looked over at me. He nodded at me.

"I do," he said. "How did Marille get that silver poisoning?"

"I... may have stabbed her with a pen that might have been silver," I said trying my best to look innocent. Shock flickered across his face. I was afraid he would be horrified that I was capable of stabbing a person. I know I was. But then he reached around my shoulder and pulled me toward him.

"Good girl," he said light heartedly. A truly offensive odor hit me like a ton of bricks. My eyes watered. I did my best not to cough.

"Thanks... Um, no offense Jonas. But you kind of smell," I said. Jonas let me go.

"Oh, sorry. There were no showers in that prison," he said grimacing in the direction of the house we were leaving behind. He took in a breath of fresh air as the famous Illinois wind wrapped around us.

"So... What now?" I asked hesitantly. Jonas's smile faded. He looked down at his feet and then up again.

"Listen, Layla. I don't want you to feel pressured because of the way I feel about you. I promise you I am much more controlled than she was. I mean, its partially because of her that I am so controlled. When she told my dad about my..."

"Lone Wolf-ness?"

"Yeah, I guess you could call it that," Jonas said with a shrug. "I had to keep away from you. Tommy and Katrina followed me every step of the way and it was hard at first, but I've learned restraint. To be honest Lay, it's probably not a good idea to be around me. I mean, with my pack and my condition, its too complicated. You deserve to have a normal life." I smiled at him. He kept his hands in his pockets, and his eyes to the ground. It was obvious he was trying to keep his distance from me.

I inched toward him, hooking my arm into his. Again, Jonas looked surprised.

"Normal's overrated. And besides... I think I would have just as hard a time keeping away from you, than you would trying to keep away from me," I said. Jonas smiled a smile that was ridiculously wide. I was probably grinning like an idiot too. Then he stopped all of the sudden, the wind continued to blow at us. His smile slowly turned to serious, I felt mine do the same. The grass gently leaned in the wind around us.

And then he leaned in and kissed me. My heart jumped and couldn't come down. I kissed him right back, ignoring his unshowered stench, deciding that it was more musky than unclean. Jonas wrapped his arms around my waist, I wrapped my arms around his neck.

I finally got my man. I know my sisters would be proud.

Then all of the sudden a car ripped past us. Jonas and I abruptly pulled apart. Jonas pulled me out of the road as a blue Celica screamed to a stop, skidding and kicking up the dust from the dirt road. It soared past us and then halted. Then it rolled backwards right up to us. Jonas stood in front of me protectively as it stopped in front of us.

The windows rolled down.

"Jonas?"

"Katrina? Tommy!" Jonas cried.

"What the hell are you doing?" Katrina snapped putting down a messy pile of mapquest printed computer papers.

"We're kind of lacking a car. We were going to go walk for help. What are you two doing in Illinois?" Jonas asked.

"Rescuing you."

"Oh. Well, we've already escaped," Jonas said. Katrina gave a relieved smile. I peeked around him at the two of them.

"Thank God. I bet her sister was going to kick our ass if she was dead," Katrina said. My eyes widened.

"My sister? Is she okay? Wait, which sister are we talking about?" I asked quickly. Tommy and Katrina exchanged a solemn look. My heart plummeted down from the heavenly place it had been just seconds before as Jonas had kissed me.

"Let's talk in the car. It's a long drive home," Tommy said.

It turned out to be an incredibly long ride home.

* * *

One week later...

* * *

**Layla:**

It had appropriately rained on Phoebe's funeral. God, I hate funerals. It being my older sister's made it that much worse. Luckily Jonas had come along to comfort me. He held my hand the whole way through. Now we were still at the cemetery. Estranged relatives and popular friends of Phoebe's all came with their brand new black outfits. It upset me a little bit that it seemed like none of these people cared.

A funeral seemed to be just another excuse to go shopping. Don't get me wrong, there were a few people who appropriately stood around and looked sad. Her stupid boyfriend was not one of them. Jonas came back from the car with a bottled water. My face was stained with tears, my skin sore from its acidic content.

"Hey," he said joining me under my black umbrella. He looked almost normal again. Of course today, he had gone a little bit fancier, but it was nice to see him in black again. Even on a day like this, I had to greet him with a smile.

I was infinitely grateful he was here with me today. Unlike poor Paulette who had turned away every person who tried to comfort her. She was standing alone at the top of the hill holding her umbrella over her. My little sister and my older sister had been best friends, closer than I could possibly have been with either of them.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Jonas asked me. I shrugged.

"I don't know. She hasn't talked to anyone all day," I responded. She just stood there staring at Phoebe's grave. She didn't move, didn't cry. My stubborn sister looked frozen. It wasn't until my dad put my arm around her and led her away that she was able to move her feet. Her placid expression was unmoving.

"I hope she'll be okay," I said. Jonas took my umbrella and then held my free hand, giving me a gentle squeeze.

"I'm sure she'll be fine," Jonas assured me. I took a deep breath as I thought about the stupid reception at home. It was going to be miserable.

"Would you mind hiding away with me in my room? I don't want to talk to any stupid relatives telling me how sorry they are for my loss," I asked. Jonas wrapped an arm around me.

"It would be my pleasure," he said. We walked past a dark figure in a dark hood. He was facing the hill wear Phoebe was buried watching the people. Freaks like that who come to funerals just to see dead people bother me. I shivered and decided to ignore him. Jonas sniffed and wrinkled his nose at him, but we walked away.

And the figure just stood there. Watching.

* * *

**The End**

* * *

And now for some shameless plugging!

For those of you who don't know, I have a website full of stories and most are unfinished. Many, many, many of them are vampire/werewolf stories. Also, I post other people's stories on it too, so if you'd like to give people something to read just email it to me and I can post it.

You can comment on it and there's a little chat box thingy. I love to hear from people on it. Anyway, since fanfiction is weird about posting URL's here it is in word form. (dot) period for people who don't know.

winged516(dot)tripod(dot)com

It's called "I'm Bored and I Just Want To Read". Thanks for reading this story the whole way through. You guys have been amazing. Stay tuned for more...


	32. Voracious: A Preview

I do not own Blood and Chocolate. I do own my characters.

I also feel that I should mention that I do not own Twilight either, the inspiration for the sequel to Obsession.

* * *

**Preview for "Voracious"**

_Six months later..._

* * *

**3rd Person:**

Ben dropped feet first from the three story building. There was a blonde girl walking ahead of him.

"Do you smell her?" someone's voice crackled from his ear piece.

"No. I told you. I don't smell or taste anything," he said.

"Perfect. Keep stalking her. How are you holding up?" asked the man. Ben shivered. Danwell, Montana was a forbidden zone. There was a foreboding about its presence, a sting in the air that was like a warning shot from a rifle. He swallowed as paranoia forced him to look over his shoulder again.

There was no one there, naturally. He would have heard if someone _was_ there. He silently scolded himself.

"Its discomforting. However, its not as strong as it was when I started out," he responded. Now for the great rogue's plan to be put into action. He eyed the girl walking alone with ear buds stuffed into her ears from her MP3 player. He could hear every song as clearly as if he had his own pair of head phones.

"Listen, boys. Now that I'm en route, how about you share a little info about Blondie," Ben said with the shadow of a smile as he knew he had the advantage. That was Ben Sarrow. Always one step ahead.

"No. This was a no questions asked mission," said one of the men.

"No questions asked? I didn't agree to those terms," Ben said.

"You said the terms were reasonable."

"And as reasonable as they are, I never said I agreed to them," he added. His eyes dropped down momentarily to the blonde girl's unintentional swagger, then up to her hair again. The wind blew from her direction. He should be going mad with her scent. He should have lost control and dragged her into a dark alley long ago.

Not Ben though. His curse, was also his blessing.

"That is, if you want her," Ben said.

"You're withholding her?" shouted the now outraged man. Ben shrugged.

"I suppose I could. What's so special about this one girl?" Ben asked. There was a defeated sigh from the other end of the conversation. The two men in charge were arguing with one another. Ben could only make out the words "untrustworthy" and "snake in the grass." Ben grinned to himself, not denying either of those charges.

"She is... merchandise," someone finally answered him. Ben's eyes widened in sudden interest.

"And when did we start selling people? Sounds like something the big boys would get upset over," Ben said.

"She was given a blood transfusion when she came in for a car accident a few months. A very special transfusion that we've been itching to experiment with. She gives off an intoxicating scent that makes it almost impossible to resist. The theory is when consumed it gives temporary, unimaginable power. We need to do more tests on its contents. The problem, is none of us can get near her without being tempted of bleeding her dry," said the man. Ben nodded in sudden understanding.

"Ah, that'd be where my lack of senses and I come in to collect her."

"Yes. She was safest in Danwell for the incubation period. It has been unpopulated of our kind for many, many years due to the...well, the..."

"The mysterious feeling of being preyed upon around every corner?"

"Precisely. It is not a place welcome for our kind," he said. Ben smiled as Blondie sat down at the bus stop. Her song went from a Beatles remix to a classic Led Zepplin. Ben ducked into the nearest shadowed corner and watched.

"So, her blood... It's a drug?" Ben deducted.

"Something like that."

"And its addictive?" Ben asked.

"Quite possibly. That's why we need you to gather a sample," said the man. Ben smirked.

"And my guess is that Mr. Big Shot and his lackies know nothing about this?"

"We didn't want to get legally involved. That would be why we contacted a rogue. Don't you think about doing something stupid, young fool," growled the one on the other end of the conversation.

"Mm...," Ben said orange eyes flashing excitement. He pressed his lips thin to contain the ridiculously large grin that would expose him. "I wouldn't do anything stupid. Not me, never."

"You'd better bring her to us, you half with!"

"She is quite the merchandise. And what a fox... So the way I see it, you've stupidly paid me upfront and this girl might as well be an endless supply of cocaine. Not to mention no one can come near her but me. I really see no benefit in my bringing you her blood," Ben mused mostly to himself. He bit his lip lightly as the wheels in his head turned.

"You will do what we paid you for, convict!" demanded the one on the other line.

"I don't think so," Ben replied.

"You're forgetting whose life is wanted by the most powerful ones among our kind."

"And you're forgetting that you've done this illegally. Go ahead. Tell on me. I don't care," he said.

"You won't live long enough to regret this. You will have our kind swarming you within days. If you give out this blood more and more are going to be attracted to it. She'll be bled dry and you'll be out of stock. Then you will have plenty of unhappy customers on your hands." Ben took out the ear piece and stomped it with the end of his heel. It shattered with a loud crack. He raised his head and watched as the girl stood up, awaiting her bus.

* * *

The next story will be in the Blood and Chocolate section still. It will be entitled "Voracious" 


End file.
